Close To You
by elanor tinuviel
Summary: Slightly AU Squinoa : Chapter 10 added FINALLY! : Some grudges last a lifetime. When Squall Leonhart comes back to Deling City, will Rinoa's hatred towards him stop once and for all? PLEASE R&R! Thanks a bunch! Have a nice day!
1. Prologue: Odd Ends Meet

Disclaimer: I, Elanor Tinuviel, do no own Square-Enix or any of its enterprises. Go on, I dare you to investigate, I DARE YOU! Anyhoo…enjoy ^.^

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Prologue: Odd Ends Meet

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"You're gone away 

I'm left alone 

A part of me is gone 

And I'm not moving on 

So wait for me 

I know the day will come."

~ Meet You There – Simple Plan

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There are some smells that stay with you forever. So distinct, so characterising that you can tell who or what had been in the same room as you or sat in the same chair. Most smells trigger off happy memories…

…others trigger off horrible memories - things that shouldn't have happened but did. One time in particular… 

It was my sixth birthday, not the biggest celebration of one's life, but it's meant to be a special day, right? Yeah so anyway, I had all my whole family there and all my friends – yes even he was there. Nearly every celebration I was at, he was at and this one proved to be no different. It was also the last one he was at for a while, much to my delight.

So anyway, it was my birthday and everything was pretty much going the way it had been planned by my father – the tail had been pinned on the donkey, the lunch served, the lolly bags handed out. Only one thing remained: the blowing out of the candles.

Please remember that I, at that point in time, was a girl on her sixth birthday. Blowing out candles was a pretty big thing! I still believed in making wishes and having them granted if I kept my mouth shut about it. So there I was, all smiles and about to blow out the candles and then it happens.

I get a whiff of it and I am not happy!

Looking down at the cake, there was no mistake about it. Some dickhead had smeared dog shit all over the top of my chocolate mud cake and boy did it reek! Naturally I was furious. Who the hell would mess with me on my birthday of all days! I looked up and around, and it didn't take too long at all to spot the culprits.

He and his idiot of a friend, Seifer, were laughing their heads off. It took me a millisecond to run after them and hit them both in the stomach. Of course the element of surprise was working very well to my advantage. They hadn't anticipated an attack from me, nor did they see me run at them.

So, with them rolling around on the grass clutching their tummies, I marched right up to my father and demanded him to get me a new cake. He went straight away to get my birthday cake, no hesitation evident as he made for his car and drove off.

He never came back.

My father died on the day of my sixth birthday.

It's all Squall's fault. If he hadn't pulled that stupid prank, my father wouldn't have gone out to get me another cake and he'd still be here. But he's not. And it's Squall's fault.

I hate him - I'll hate him forever.

A few weeks after that day, his dad got a job offer in Esthar. I was so happy – I'd never have to see him again, never have to see the reminder of why my father was dead.

That was ten years ago. Ten years of having no such reminder. But so much can change in one day…

I should've known I wouldn't be that lucky for long…

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- - -

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"Rinoa!"

With a sigh, she put her pen down, momentarily closing her eyes. _What could she possibly want now?!_ "Yeah, Mom?"

"Will you come down here?"

Pushing her chair back, she made for the door and clunked down the stairs to stick her head into the kitchen. "What's up? I'm doing my homework."

Julia Caraway wiped her hands, paying no attention to what her daughter had just said. "Could you set the table, please?"

"Set the table?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "Mom, we _never_ set the table for anything. There's only ever been the two of us."

"Well," she started, finally looking up to acknowledge Rinoa's presence. "We're having guests tonight. A friend of mine is moving back into town and I thought we'd give them a welcoming dinner."

Rinoa nodded her head slowly. "That's nice. Um, exactly when were you planning on telling me this?"

"Well I only just invited them this morning, so I've had as little warning as you."

"You didn't _have_ to invite them," she replied as she folded her arms over her chest.

Her mother gaped at her. "What kind of friend would I be if I didn't?"

"The normal type of friend who reacts excitedly then says 'I'll see you around then, we'll have to get together soon', then suggest a get together in two weeks time which gives you plenty of time to prepare or to back out, which ever option tickles your fancy."

"Rinoa that is bad manners and you know it," Julia scolded as she continued chopping some vegetables.

"Do I?" she answered with a cock of her head.

Her mother merely stared back, not in the mood to tolerate Rinoa's attitude. "Could just set the table? It'll take you less that two minutes and I've never known you to complain about _not_ doing homework."

"Fine, fine," she relented with a roll of her eyes, "I'll do it. How many places do you need?"

"Five."

"Okay," Rinoa sighed as she opened the crockery cupboard. After she arranged the last set of cutlery in its place, she bit her lip as she inspected each set place. _Sure I wasn't prepared for this, but that doesn't mean the table can't be perfect, right?_ Smiling to herself, she sighed and turned to go back upstairs. "I'll be in my room."

"Alright, I'll be up to get you when dinner's ready."

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- - -

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"Rinoa! Can you get that?" Julia shouted from the kitchen as the doorbell rang. 

Rinoa, who was still busy in her room, had purposely shut the door of her room in hopes to bar out any more requests from her rather demanding mother.

"Oh, that girl," she muttered before precariously leaving the kitchen to open the door. Outside three people stood nervously smiling.

"Julia!" the woman outside exclaimed.

"Raine!" And with that, the two women embraced. "Laguna," she smiled before hugging the man next to Raine. "Oh God it's been a while. Come in, come in. Come into the kitchen, dinner's taking a while to finish since Rinoa is 'busy doing homework.'"

"Oh, it's quite alright," Raine replied as she and the two men followed Julia into the kitchen. Julia promptly returned to the stove. While she sauteed some vegetables, she decided to address the third person quietly leaning against the fridge.

"So Squall, it must be weird to be back in the old neighbourhood, right?"

"Yeah, I guess it is," he smiled faintly as he shifted his weight from his left leg to his right. "I don't really know if I'll remember anyone."

"Oh don't worry, I'm sure Rinoa will be happy to introduce you to some people."

__

I hope she isn't as violent as she used to be. "That'll be good."

"Which reminds me, could you go up for me and call her down? I think she's closed her door which makes it close to impossible to hear anything going on outside!"

Squall stood up straight, hesitantly. "Umm…sure. Which room is it?"

"It's the room to your left when you get to the top of the stairs, you can't miss it. Thanks Squall, maybe you two could catch up as well!"

He nervously smiled as he turned to exit the kitchen, making his way to the staircase he'd seen upon entering the household. _Okay…let's do a re-cap: last time I saw Rinoa she kicked the crap out of me and Seifer…for some reason I don't feel too good about this._

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"Quisty, I don't get any of this!" Rinoa shouted into the mouthpiece of the telephone as she violently scribbled out some working out.

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"And I do? Hello! I'm the one that's always getting into trouble from that cow of a teacher because she thinks that every single sound made in that classroom comes from me!"

"Yeah, but you didn't fail the test last Thursday," she countered with a frown as she re-wrote the question on her page.

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"But…fine, you win. So what exactly don't you get, I'm probably not the best person to be explaining, but I'll do my best."

"You know what? I hate trig, I don't care if I fail mid-terms."

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"Yeah, you say that now. Which question you doing?"

"I honestly don't get anything to do with the damn unit circle. I mean, what is it used for exactly?"

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"Well, it's used to find other possible angles. You know for non-right angled triangles how the angle could be acute or obtuse…" Quistis began as Rinoa lifted an eyebrow. _"Erm…I mean, nothing. Oh hey, I just remembered. Selphie wanted me to tell you that Irvine's inviting you and Jem to his party this Saturday. You coming?"_

"I guess. I hafta ask mom first, though. It should be fine - not like I have anything planned."

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"And she also wanted me to tell you that Seifer's gonna be there too."

"Why!? I hate that guy! You know that!"

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"Why is that again?"

"Don't make me repeat the story. Besides, he's the biggest prick ever! Even _you_ have to admit that."

"Well he really isn't that bad a guy. I mean, we talk and he's pretty normal with me. He probably just likes annoying you 'cause it's so damn easy." She laughed._ "He's a nice guy, really he is."_

"Says you."

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"What's that supposed to mean?!" Quistis shouted as Rinoa strategically pulled the phone away from her ear.

"Just messing with ya. But does he really have to come? He's gonna make a pass at me again, like he _always_ does at every single party without fail, and Jem gets pretty upset when stuff like that happens."

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"Why? It's not like you two are married or anything. He should get used to the fact that his girlfriend is beautiful, funny, occasionally stubborn and just really nice that guys practically melt at the sight of her."

"Who's that you're talking about? Jem's seeing someone else?" she gasped, sarcasm dripping over every syllable.

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"I'm not going to feed your ego, Rin. So anyway, I just wanted to give you fair warning about Seifer. And it's not my party, therefore I don't write the guest list. So don't shoot the messenger."

A knock resonated from her door. Rinoa, thinking it was her mother, expected it to burst open as soon as the knocking stopped. Frowning when it didn't, she got up and crossed the room to open it. "Wait a sec, someone just knocked on my door, and it wasn't mom."

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"How'd you figure that?"

"She would've come in straight away. It's probably one of the guests she invited over tonight."

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"Who?"

"Dunno," she said before opening the door. Rinoa almost dropped the phone when she saw who it was. Standing there silently, her eyes wide, she nervously swallowed. There was no doubt about it. Sure he'd matured over the years he'd been away, but he was still the same person.

The one, the only…

Squall Leonhart.

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A/N-Hello my pretties! Yes indeed, this is my new fic! You all thought I'd dies didn't you? DIDN'T YOU?! Hahaha, just kiddin (just like xianghua in soul calibur) but anyhoo, I hope you enjoyed this prologue/chapter. Please review! Feedback means the world to me and I take every suggestion you give into account! I'll start with responses next chapter I hope and I'll honestly try to update fortnightly, but we'll see how it goes with school and all.  
  
**_This chap is dedicated to my friend Buttered Angie – HAPPY BIRTHDAY!_**

  
Thanks all! Please don't forget to review! And thanks for taking the time to read my fic! 3 e.t.


	2. Chapter 1: Forced Company

Disclaimer: can't be bothered…look at the previous instalment…that one's pretty legitimate. Enjoy.

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Chapter 1: Forced Company

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"Travelling down the road

Passing the signs that used to be

I remember you and me

The moment leads me home

Is it too far for me to find 

The days we left behind?"

~ Never Said Goodbye – Martin Nievera

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Squall nervously took in a big breath before knocking. _Why the hell am I so nervous?_ Shaking his head slightly, he confidently knocked on the door with a rat-a-tat-tat. After a few moments, he heard a muffled voice and then the door opened. Rinoa, who's eyes had been slightly downcast whilst opening the door, quickly lifted her gaze to meet his eyes. Squall, too, returned the serious stare, not quite sure whether to say anything or not. Silence encompassed them, and for a moment, they could do nothing but stare at each other. Minutes later, a distant voice was heard from the phone.

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"Rin? Rinoa! Are you still there?"

She shook herself out of her reverie and brought the telephone's mouthpiece closer to her lips. "Listen, Quisty, I'll call you back."

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"Alright then. What's wrong?"

"I'll tell you later. Bye."

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"Later."

Rinoa pressed a button to end the call and placed the phone on the table by the door, her mouth still slightly open in shock. Glancing back at him, she pursed her lips together and lifted her chin indignantly.

"What are you doing here?"

"Good to see you too, Rinoa," he said with a cock of his head.

She smirked in return. "Yeah, whatever. What are you doing here?" Rinoa repeated.

"Your mother invited us over for dinner," he informed her as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"You mean, you're the guests?" Rinoa lifted an eyebrow questioningly.

"I think it's safe to assume that," he replied with a hint of a smile.

"So you're back; you've come back to Deling City?"

"Yeah."

"What are you doing here?"

"You already asked that-"

"No, I mean here outside my room."

"Oh, your mom told me to come and tell you that dinner's ready."

"Right, okay," she said with uncertainty as she closed her door. Squall was about to follow her down the stairs when she sharply turned around, a frown present on her face. "Just so you know. You may be my mother's guest but that does not mean I like you or wish to associate with you in anyway. You got that? If you come anywhere near me or piss me off, I swear I will kick your ass just as easily as I did when we were six."

"I've only been here for five minutes and you're already starting with the threats?"  
  
"I loathe your very existence, _that_ fact alone gives me the right to start threatening you whenever I feel like it."

"Can I ask you a question?" he asked as he crossed his arms and leant against the banister.

"You're going to anyway, but as to my answering, I'm not so sure."

With a slight frown he continued, "Why do you hate me so much?"

"Oh, you know the reason," she snapped with a sarcastic smile and nod.

"If I did, then why would I ask?"

"Because you're a…moron," she quickly thought up.

"Gee, I'm flattered."

"Ugh!" she groaned as she cast her glance upward at the ceiling. Then, turning, she proceeded to walk down the stairs, quickly putting on a polite smile as she entered the kitchen. "Wow! Hi Mr and Mrs Leonhart. How are you?" she asked chirpily as she went to hug Raine. When she pulled away from hugging Laguna, she smiled once again and commented, "You know, I still admire the fact you took on your wife's name instead of her taking your's, Mr Leonhart." She held back a laugh as she remembered a time when she was five years old asking her parents if she could have her mother's maiden name of Heartilly in place of Caraway.

"Yes well it was the only condition she made when I asked her to marry me, so how could I refuse?" he shrugged meekly.

"My dear, Rinoa!" Raine squealed as she took Rinoa's hands in her's. "You've grown up so much! And as polite as always! Please just Raine and Laguna, and I'm sure you remember Squall."

"Yes, I remember," she glanced at him sideways as he entered the kitchen slowly. "So, what brings you back to Deling City?"

"I got transferred back here. The main office of the company was restationed here so I got sent back as well."

"Where was it you moved to before?"

"Esthar."

"Oh Esthar! That's where Jem comes from." She glanced at their slightly confused faces. "Oh, Jem, uh…Jeremy Scathe, he's my boyfriend."

"Jeremy Scathe?" Squall asked out of newfound interest.

"Yeah, he's here on exchange."

"I see," he stated with a small smile.

"Why?" she queried with a frown of curiousity.

"Jeremy Scathe, wasn't he-"

"-Oh, no reason, Rin," Squall interrupted before his father could finish.

Rinoa threw him another glare. _Don't you dare call me Rin._

"Done!" Julia smiled as she turned off the stove and breathed a sigh. "Rinoa will you bring the potatoes to the table, please?"

"I can do that Mrs Caraway," Squall said as he intercepted the bowl of baked potatoes from Rinoa.

"Thankyou, Squall."

"You don't have to suck up to my mother, alright," Rinoa hissed as their parents walked into the dining room adjacent to the kitchen.

"Who says I'm sucking up to anyone?" he replied with feigned naivety as he began to walk, only to be stopped by Rinoa blocking his way. "It's in my nature to be nice, if you'd give me a chance you'd realise that."

"I'll do no such thing, if that's what you're suggesting I do."

"What gave you that idea?" Squall smirked with a slight cock of the head.

Rin looked over her shoulder, making sure the adults were still out of earshot. "I won't hit you in front of the parentals but I swear if you push me I will, I don't care _who_ the audience is."

"Sure you do, you don't want to ruin the perfect little image my parents have of you, do you?" he asked as he stepped past her, this time without interference.

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Argh! Damn him!

"Rinoa! Please hurry, we're waiting. Squall, could you please put them down there," Julia smiled as she pointed to an empty spot on the table. "You can sit there next to Rinoa."

"Everything smells delicious Mrs Caraway," he said as he slipped in the chair next to Rinoa.

"Why thankyou! Please, don't be shy."

Squall flashed another smile as Rinoa rolled her eyes and folded her arms.

"So, when do you start school?" Julia asked as Squall served himself.

"I start at Deling Grammar on Monday."

Rinoa frowned at him as she went to serve herself. "What? You're going to my school?"

She received a stern glance from her mother. "Rinoa, don't be rude."

"Sorry," Rin muttered as she sunk back into her seat.

"Yeah, well my old principal recommended it, and apparently it's a good school."

"It's an excellent school," Julia affirmed with a grin.

"If you're not the one actually going there," Rinoa whispered almost inaudibly, though Squall evidently heard as he tried to suppress a laugh.

"It must've been extremely hard for you, leaving all of your friends behind."

"It was _really_ hard leaving all my friends…" his voice trailed as he began to play with his food.

Raine strategically changed the subject, noticing the hurt in her son's voice. "So Julia, what did you think about the beach house idea?"

"I thought it'd be great. When would you want to go up though, I'll have to put in an application for leave."

"Oh you won't have to miss work for too long, we were thinking of going over a weekend and maybe a Monday. So we'd leave on the Friday night, get there on the Saturday morning and leave on the Monday!"

"I could just chuck a sick day then!"

"Um, could I interrupt?" Rinoa asked with a raised fork.

"You just did, idiot," Squall muttered loud enough for only her to hear.

Throwing him a sidelong glare she continued, "Does this in any way involve me? Not to sound self centred or anything."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Squall mumbled once more, receiving the same response.

"Of course it does, Rinoa. You _and_ Squall. All five of us!" Raine exclaimed as she clasped her hands together.

"Do you mind, um, doing a recap? What's all this about?"

"Oh, I mustn't have of told you-" Julia began.

"-Nope."

"Well Raine suggested that we rent a beach house along the coast for a weekend and just have fun basically. Just us five. I mean, we haven't seen each other for ten years! I think it's a bout time we caught up. I think it's a great idea."

"Yeah it is, I guess. Would I have to miss out on school then?"

"Well it would only be for a day, and you wouldn't be the only one. Squall will be with you."

Rinoa almost dropped her fork. "What?!"

"Umm, I thought they'd made that pretty clear, Rinoa," Squall interjected with a smirk as he continued to eat. "All _five_ of us." His comment receiving the usual glare from the girl adjacent him.

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Like I was listening out for your name! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 oh yeah…Squall included does make five…I knew I sucked at maths!

"You'll have a great time!" Laguna put in. "The property is right on the beach front and since school's begun, it'll pretty much be our own private beach! Most of the other properties are empty, so it'll just be us! All we have to do now is pick a date."

"Why don't we make it next weekend? So you don't have to cancel anything you might have planned this weekend," Raine suggested as she swallowed a mouthful of potatoes.

"Oh about this weekend," Rinoa, too, swallowed as she straightened up and put her fork down. "I meant to ask, mom. Irvine's having a party this Saturday…can I go?"

Julia leaned back into her chair to think. "Well…"

"Come on mom. It's Irvine, you _know_ Irvine. You've known him since…well that time Selphie brought him to that party of mine a few years back."

"Who else will be there?"

"Um," Rinoa almost panicked. _I'm so not gonna be allowed now! She asked the question, the 'who will be there' question. Screw this up and I can't go!_ "Well, you know, Irvine, obviously seeing it _is_ his party, Selphie, Quistis, Zell and Seifer and I dunno who else yet."

"Seifer?" Squall asked with slight grin. "Cool." _Haven't seen that guy in ages!_

"Yeah…" she replied with a tone of defeat as she cast her glance down at her plate.

An unspoken conversation then began between the two friends, Julia and Raine. Julia bit her lip as Raine shrugged.

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Do what you want. She's your daughter.

Julia nodded. _I know…_Her eyes then widened.

Raine cocked her head with a slight frown. _What?!_

Julia glanced momentarily at Squall who'd been observing the exchange of stares with utter confusion.

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Squall! He could go! Julia raised her eyebrows. _If you'll let him of course…_

Raine nodded her head eagerly. _Of course he can go! This'll be a great opportunity for him._

Julia cocked her head slightly. _You sure?_

Raine responded with another nod. _Of course I'm sure._

Julia smiled as she nodded once. _Great!_

Raine shook her head with a shrug of the shoulders as her glance passed between the two sullen teenagers. _What's up with them two anyway? I don't think Rinoa likes Squall too much._

Julia shrugged her shoulders with a roll of the eyes. _I don't know. But Rinoa will agree to this. I know her._ She smiled knowingly.

Raine then jerked her head in Rinoa's direction. _Go on, make the deal! I gotta see this!_

"Well, alright." Julia replied nonchalantly as she observed Rinoa's eyes dilating in surprise as she slowly lifted her head to face her mother. Subtly winking at her friend across the table she proceeded in the negotiations. "The only condition is-"

"-Yes?" Rinoa interjected eagerly.

"Squall will go with you."

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A/N-ok…I wanted to update early because I start school next week and I don't know when I'll be able to update again…though hopefully I will be able to in two weeks. Okay? Cool! Now! oh just a side note…just so you all know, I've decided to base their school system on a totally made up one okay? Because I've tried working out the American school system with help from ol' Johnny boy (thanks mate) but its just a little weird for me being an Aussie…so bear with me! Alright! Now! to all of you who reviewed:

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Black Demon567-well…lots of 'yays' for you cos you were the first to review! WOOT! Hehehe, wow thanks for the heads up about the italics problems…I tried fixing it up, but either my computer is screwy or ff.net was that day. But thanks so much! Especially for reviewing! I'm all smiles! ^.^

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Noacat-hello again m'dear! Thanks for reviewing! Just so you know…this fic won't look like a squinoa for another 5-8 chapters hahaha, but it's a squinoa nonetheless! Thanks again dude! *huggles*

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DBH-thanks for the review! ^.^

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zornoid13-thanks for the review! Truly brightened my day! I seem to have a thing for love-hate relationships hahaha. XD thanks again!

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SabreHero-hey, hey! Thanks for the review! And I updated as soon as I could…but another two weeks before I update again unfortunately…thanks all the same though!

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Wcigtdniw-thankyou so much for your review! It absolutely tickled me pink! ^.^ so…find any errors in this chappy? I didn't edit all that well…I'm on holiday mode and still trying to get through a pile of homework the evil teachers gave us for our 'holiday'. Omg! Thanks so much for your verily informative email! Thankyou, thankyou, _thankyou!_ Ack! I think the whole world should operate around one system…the aussie system hahaha. My friend gave me the idea of making an original school system…so it'll be a fusion betweent he aussie and american school system…so thanks so much for your help! ^.^ *huggles*

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island's lily-thanks dude! I updated as fast as I could!

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Angelprinczess29-I love the conflict too! Cept in this fic (unlike moonlight) Rinoa is the one in the wrong ;) that's all I'm gonna say hahaha, and I didn't even tell you that alright? *shifty eyes* thanks so much Alex!

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Lendmemoni-no! lend _me_ money! I need it! hahaha jokes! Thanks for the review!

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angel-brokensorrow-don't worry about sounding heartless…you were right! And Squall really wasn't to blame *shifty eyes* not that I'm hinting anything ;) hahaha shh! Dun tell anyone! Thanks for the reivew!

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seth8-thanks for the review! Yeah, I thought the whole dog shit part was original hahaha, though I don't suppose its really happened to anyone…thanks again!

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Dark Angels-how's this for soon? Will it suffice?! I hope so! Thanks so much for reviewing!

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Wind Chime Bells-back for fic number 3! Thanks so much for reviewing dude! I'm glad it meets your approval ^.^

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Baby Rose-thanks for reviewing…and I wasn't gone for *that* long was I? =S hmm…anywaiz…thanks again! hope you liked this chappie!

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trekken46- *sings* star trekken across the universe! Hehehe sorry, your nick just got me thinkin of that really old song. Anyhoo! Thanks for reviewing! Hope this chap was alright!

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baka_shinji_cookie man- lol! Kamusta ka? That's prolly really wrong, but hey! I dun speak tagalog! Hahaha…salamat! For reviewing hahaha, that's really pathetic eh? So anyway…thanks for reviewing! I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long ^.^

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Thanks everyone! Please R&R! it would mean a lot to me! Have a nice day! 3 e.t.


	3. Chapter 2: Acquainted Strangers

Dislaimer: I'm very poor…need I say more?

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**Chapter 2: Acquainted Strangers**

**-**

**"Fancy meeting you alone in the crowd**

**Couldn't help but notice your smile**

**While everybody else around us is going about**

**Can we just stop and talk a while?"**

**Can We Just Stop and Talk Awhile – Lea Salonga**

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* * *

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"Squall will do what?!"

"Will that be a problem Rinoa?" Laguna asked with a slightly sly grin. "It'll be good for Squall to get to know some people. You could introduce him to everyone and get him acquainted with your crowd."

BUT I DON'T WANT HIM ACQUAINTED WITH MY CROWD!! Rinoa sat gaping as her gaze shifted from her mother, to Raine and Laguna who were all happy about the idea. Lastly she looked at Squall who was silently laughing with his eyes focused at his food. "There's no problem," she finally relented with hesitation. _Fine, you win this round._ "Squall can come. I'll let Irvine know," she sighed as she turned to face Squall. "Um, its at 7 on Saturday. I guess you can come with me and Jem. So just be here at quarter to."

"Cool. Thanks Rin. That was a delicious dinner Mrs Caraway. Thankyou," he smiled warmly as he put his cutlery down.

"Why thankyou Squall. You're most welcome. Now Rinoa why don't you take Squall into the kitchen and get him some dessert."

"Sure thing, Mom," she replied quietly as she, too, put her cutlery down onto her now empty plate.

The two adolescents got up simultaneously, Squall turning to follow Rinoa. Once they were both in the kitchen, Rinoa quickly took hold of Squall and dragged him into another room.

Quietly, Rinoa closed the door and turned to face Squall, her eyes narrow with impatience. "Why the hell must you continually ruin my life?"

"Um, Rinoa…I haven't been a part of your life for ten years." _Right…being a smartass will totally make this situation better._

"Why didn't you say that you didn't wanna go to the party."

"Because I actually _want_ to," he stated in an a-matter-of-fact tone. "I need to get to know these people sometime, and this'll be a great opportunity."

"You're going to school next week though, aren't you?" she offered in desperation, tyring to find any excuse for him not to go

"Yeah-"

"Then you'll meet everyone on Monday," Rinoa cut in with no hesitation.

He rolled his eyes while shaking his head. "Whatever. Will you be doing something there that you don't want me to see?"

"What?! Of course not!" she scoffed with wide, unbelieving eyes. _How the hell could he think that of me?!_

"Then why don't you want me to go? It's not a hard question, you know."

" I just simply do not want you there," she said softly. _I want to have fun – not be forced to remember that my dad is dead._

"What is your problem, Rin?"

Turning back to old habits, she lifted her head slightly indignantly. "_You_ are my problem." Rinoa, who stood less than a metre from Squall, looked him straight in the eye and, believing she had the element of surprise against him, went to punch him in the stomach. "I told you if you pushed me I'd kick your ass," Rinoa quickly said before impact.

She never made it anywhere near his abdomen.

Squall quickly saw her right hand move and went to block it with _his_ right arm, easily evading the attack by pushing her arm away with the back of his forearm. Just as swiftly, he grabbed her extended right arm with his left hand, pushing his right hand so that he turned Rinoa to have her back facing him. Then in another second, he took her left arm in his right hand and pulling both of his arms to his sides, locking her into an uncomfortable position, where her arms crossed behind her.

She squirmed and tried to get out of his hold. _He's too strong_.

Squall was now close behind her and stepped forward a little more to speak into her ear. "Kick my ass just like you did when we were six? Newsflash Rin, I'm not the same kid I was back then. Some people change."

"And others don't."

"I see you're a prime example of that, aren't you. Still resorting to violence when things don't go your way? You need to stop thinking that you're a perfect little princess and just accept things sometimes. I didn't ask to come back here, nor did I want to leave in the first place. If I had a choice, I would've stayed in Esthar, but that wasn't an option. So do you think I went and punched the living daylights out of my parents? No. I accepted the fact that my parents wanted me with them and that I had to come back so I could be with them, so we could be a family."

"Get off me!"

"I will if you promise me that you'll be nice and civil to me. I didn't ask to be brought back here but since I'm here, I don't want to put up with your childish antics and since we're neighbours, I see no reason why we shouldn't at least be friends."

Rinoa bit her lip and once again tried to ease herself out of his clutch. _No way! He doesn't deserve such treatment, not from me anyway._

"Oh, and you have to promise that you won't try to hit me again."

"Hey! No fair! You keep adding conditions!"

"Then promise already and I'll stop."

Rinoa pursed her lips once more and tried, again, to release her hands from his oh-so-firm grip.

He smiled slightly as he felt her struggle in his hold. "You can keep trying, but you won't get out of my hands _that_ easily." He then stepped a bit closer, so he could speak directly into her ear. "I think eight years of Tae Kwon Do did me good, don't you?"

"Quite." Once more she tried pulling free, only to fail once again. _Ugh! I give up._ "Fine! I promise. But that doesn't mean I like you any more than I do. I'll just be 'civil' with you."

"And?"

Rinoa rolled her eyes. _I cannot believe I am subjecting myself to this! _"And I won't try to hit you again, alright?"

"Alright. Can I have that in writing then?"

"What?!" she squealed as she quickly turned her head to face him as best she could.

"Just kidding," Squall laughed. "So that's a promise?"

"It's a promise! Now let go!" Squall all too happily obliged as Rinoa hastily took hold of her painful shoulders. "Ow! That hurt."

"That _was_ the intention."

She poked her tongue out at him. "Meanie."

"Whatever. So am I gonna get dessert like your mom said I would or shall I lie and say you did when you really didn't? 'Cause if that's the case, you'd better tell me what desserts you have in your house so I can at least make it a legitimate claim."

"Come on, I'll get you dessert," Rinoa scoffed as she lead the way into the kitchen.

"How nice of you."

His response was a smirk from her as she opened the freezer and pulled out a tub of ice cream. "We only have choc chip."

"That's okay."

Rin took out a spoon from a drawer and two bowls from the cupboard, placing them on the kitchen bench top. She carefully opened the tub and dug into it, scooping uneven spoonfuls into each bowl. When she turned around to return the tub to the fridge, he quickly took the bowl with the bigger scoops and the spoon and began eating. Rinoa turned back around and frowned at Squall who offered her a grin. _What the…?_ "You took _my_ bowl!"

"Did I?" he queried sarcastically as he turned the bowl around and looked at its underside. "It doesn't appear to have your name on it. Are you sure?"

"I put more ice cream in it for a reason."

"I thought you were being nice."

"Ugh!" Rinoa groaned as she went to get a spoon. Returning to the bench, she slipped into one of the stools and began eating.

Squall watched her as she ate and found himself smiling a bit. _She looks so cute when she eats. Wait a sec…_ "So you and your boyfriend, Jeremy was it? How long you two been together?" he asked in hopes to rid his mind of the thoughts he was having.

If there was ever a topic that could make Rinoa smile, it was Jeremy. "Me and Jem? Well about six months now."

"How'd you meet?"

"Why do you want to know?" she rallied with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm trying to make conversation here! Work with me."

"Fine. Well he came here on exchange from Esthar in February. We had a lot of subjects together and he didn't really know anyone else, so he'd always sit with me and then he eventually started hanging around me and my friends. Then he asked me out one day at the beginning of class and I couldn't answer 'cause the teacher had come in and she was one of those really strict teachers that hate it when you speak in class. So yeah, I said yes obviously and, well, we've been together since." She smiled as she looked down into her ice cream.

A faint tune started playing and Rinoa slipped out of the stool and made for the door. "Oh, that's my phone!" she exclaimed before exiting to go upstairs. She picked up her cell phone, glanced at who it was and answered, a smile present on her face.

"Hello?"

"Hey. What took so long? You usually answer within seconds."

"Oh, sorry, I was in the kitchen eating-"

"-Choc chip ice cream?"

"You betcha! I was just talking about you."

"You were? To who?" he asked a little suspiciously

"Oh, some guy who's moved back to Deling. He pisses the hell out of me actually. His parents and mine were good friends and mom decided to invite them for dinner as welcoming back kind of thing."

"So you have guests?"

"Yeah, it sucks."

"I shoulda called before coming over then."

"What?" Rinoa asked as she walked over to her window that overlooked the street. Sure enough, standing by the mailbox was a tall boy with black hair and beautiful dark brown eyes that were almost black. He waved when he saw Rinoa and smiled as he continued to talk.

"Are you coming down or shall I come up?"

"Wait right there!" And with that she hung up, ambled down the stairs and opened the door. As expected, he'd made his way down the path and up the small flight of stairs to the front door.

"Hello," he said softly before bending slightly to kiss her. Rinoa wrapped her arms around his neck, thankful her mother was out of sight. After a few moments, he pulled back again, Rinoa's arms still in place and his around her waist. "Good surprise or bad surprise?"

"Good of course!"

"So who were you talking about me to?" he asked as he slipped his arms from around her waist and took her hand.

"Oh, _him_," she said with a tone of disgust. "Actually you might know him, though probably not. He came from Esthar."

"Yeah?" he queried with genuine interest. "What's his name?"

"Squall Leonhart."

A smile broke out onto his face. "Squall?"

"You know him?"

"Know him?! I went to school with him! He's a really good friend of mine."

"He's your _friend_?" Rinoa asked in nervous surprise. _Jem and Squall…friends? NO! They can't be!_

"Jem? That you buddy?" a voice behind her sounded.

Oh God it can't be true!

-

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A/N- AH! OMG! Has it been long or what?! What can I say? Well…I do realise its been over two months now, and I'm really, very sorry! And to prove that I really am I've decided to update nearly every two days for the next three weeks because I'm on holidays and I also wanna get this fic over and done with so that I can start my next one. If you haven't noticed this fic isn't as…um 'deep' as my other fics, so its really simple. My next fic will be 'deeper' and I honestly can't wait to start posting it up for you guys to read. So anyway…I couldn't be bothered giving responses today… **SORRY! I'M SICK AND…well…just plain LAZY!** Next chapter I probably will…so for the time being, until Tuesday, please review and tell me what you think! It would be most appreciated! Have a great day!

3 e.t.


	4. Chapter 3: The Other Guy

Disclaimer: I repeat: I am poor…so verily poor.

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****

Chapter 3: The Other Guy

-

"Anyone who's seen us knows what's going on between us,  
It doens't take a genius to read between the lines.  
And it's not just wishful thinking, or only me who's dreaming,  
I know what these are symptoms of,  
We could be in love..."

- We Could Be In Love (Lea Salonga & Brad Kane)

* * *

**. . .**

Rinoa stepped back as Jeremy took a step forward to meet Squall.

"Squall! How ya been!?" Jem asked with a grin as he shook Squall's hand and patted him on the back.

"I'm good, I'm good."

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming out here?"

"To tell you the truth I only found out last week and I tried calling actually, but I dunno what happened. I meant to try again but then I just got really busy with everything," Squall replied with a shrug of the shoulders as he put his hands in his pockets.

"Wow! Who would've thought! It's great to see you again!"

"Me too. Hey come on in, have some ice cream. Me and Rin were just talking about you."

"So I heard," Jem smiled as he put his arm around a blushing Rinoa.

Squall turned and stepped back into the kitchen, behind him the couple stopped short, Rinoa swinging around to face Jem.

"Why didn't you tell me you knew him?" she whispered interrogatingly.

"I didn't know I had to, and you never asked. Why? What's the problem?" he frowned as he looked past her at Squall who'd picked up his bowl and resumed eating.

"Only that's he's my worst enemy. Don't worry, you can be friends, I guess…_I _just don't like him."

"Aright, but he's a real nice guy. You'll like him once you really get to know him. How _do_ you know him, by the way?"

"Long story," she shook her head. "He used to live in this neighbourhood before he moved to Esthar…and now he's back. I'll be civil to him, just for you, okay?"

"Thanks, Rin. But can you _try_ to be friendly?" he coaxed as he entwined his fingers with her's.

"I'll _try_, but I can't make any promises, he hurt me pretty deep," Rinoa replied quietly, her gaze downcast.

Jem bent slightly to catch her stare. "This doesn't change anything between us, right?"

She shook her head. "No, come on," Rin smiled as she tugged on his hand his hand and pulled him into the kitchen. "Oh hey, I can go to Irvine's. You coming?"

"Yeah," Jem started hesitantly. "I'll make an appearance."

Squall looked up and smiled. "Yeah? I'm going as well."

"You are?" Jem turned to his friend in shock. "You're invited?"

"Not exactly-"

"But in order for me to go," Rin cut it, "He has to come, so he can 'mingle'."

Jem burst out laughing. "Squall? Mingle?"

"Sounds wrong, doesn't it?" Squall agreed.

Jem grinned. "Hell yeah, but sure I'll go if Squall goes."

"So you'll _go_ if Squall goes but you'll only 'make an appearance' if _I_ go?" Rinoa glared at him. _I can't believe him!_

He closed his eyes momentarily. _Shit…I have got to be more careful. I didn't know this whole issue was that sensitive. _"Rin, I didn't mean it in that way and you know it. Don't take it personally." Jem bit his lip hopefully.

Rinoa turned to him, gaping. "How can you expect me to _not_ take it personally?"

Alright…plan B. "Okay, maybe it did seem that way, but if Squall's gonna go, then I should go, 'cause if Squall goes he's not likely to know anyone else, so I'll just keep him company."

"Uhh," Squall started slowly, "You're forgetting something, dude."

"What?" Jeremy faced Squall looking pretty nervous. _Uh-oh…this could be as bad as the time I…no way! I've never been in this situation with Rin. Crap!_

"This _is_ my old neighbourhood," He said slowly, hoping to delay the impact. _He's in shit now…_

"Ah…" _Shit…how do I get myself out of this one…_he offered Rinoa, who was glaring profusely at him, a nervous smile. "I was only kidding, Rin. Of course I'll be there. Irvine's a great friend." Jem lowered his head apologetically. "Are you still mad at me?"

Rinoa evaded his glance. "Hmm…give me ten minutes, I'll be over it by then," she stated as she crossed her arms.

"Wow, I didn't know your hostility had an expiry period," Squall smirked.

"You're the only exception," she said as she shot a sarcastic smile at him.

"You know you still haven't told me why you hate me," he tried once again. _I honestly do not know what her problem is…I never did anything to her! Does she just really hate my face that much? I didn't think I was so unfortunate looking to warrant hate from anyone…_

"I don't need to tell you 'cause you _know_ the reason." _Besides, I don't wanna take skeletons out of the closet._

"I repeat: if I _did_ know why, I wouldn't ask." Squall rolled his eyes with a shake of the head. "Jem, I have no idea how you put up with her."

"Rather easily I'd say," Jem replied with a smile, motioning to put an arm around Rinoa's waist, but she recoiled.

"Ten minutes," she snapped.

"Right, sorry," he backed off with lifted arms. _I should probably make this the last time this happens…_ Instead, he turned back to Squall. "So why'd you come back?"

"Dad. He got relocated, yet again, and small families must stick together," he added with a smirk.

"Don't I know it!" Jem laughed, thinking about how reluctant his parents and sister were about his exchange to Deling. "How long you gonna be here til?"

He shrugged. "Indefinitely. It's kinda hard to be sure about that sorta thing when Dad's being moved around all the time."

"Yeah I guess. 'Cause I'm only here til January, it won't be as fun back in Esthar with you being here in Deling."

Squall glanced at Rinoa whose gaze had turned somewhat placid and slightly…sad. _Could she really love Jem **that** much?_ _Guess its not something I should pry into…_

Following Squall's stare, Jem, too, realised what Rinoa was doing – thinking about when Jem would have to leave for good. They'd discussed it so many times and no matter what, Rinoa was always saddened by the topic. Turning slightly, she brought her arms to her stomach, clutching her elbows, as if she'd just been hit by a cool wind. "Umm…I just remembered, I forgot to take in the mail this afternoon. I'll be right back."

As soon as she'd left the room, it took Jem less than a second to react. "Back in a sec."

Outside the Caraway house, Rinoa was hardly concerned about the mail and went in the opposite direction, planting herself onto the wooden bench in the corner of the yard, facing the house. _Thank God mum likes to close the blinds when she's using a particular room._ With her eyes downcast, she bent her knees and hugged her legs to her chest, hardly surprised to see a familiar shadow approach and sit right next to her.

"How can you just talk so freely about it," she whispered, the rest of her body remaining motionless.

"About what?" Jem started slowly, not meaning to sound like a smartass, but sure enough that's how Rinoa took it.

Her gaze snapped up at him, her eyes slightly narrow. "You _know_ what I'm talking about. Don't think I don't know what kind of game you're playing."

"I'm not playing any games with you, Rin," he rallied softly.

"Then how can you talk about it so openly as if it doesn't hurt you, 'cause if it doesn't, you may as well tell me and we can just end this now," Rinoa answered back, not wholly clear on what she was saying.

"Whoa, just hold on a second," he said with a feeling of hurt. _How could she possibly think that?!_ "What the hell gives you the right to assume that it doesn't hurt me?"

"Oh so you do know what I'm talking about. So much for not playing games, Jem," she scoffed, hugging her legs closer to chest and resting her chin on her knees.

"Okay, okay, one point to you. Now can we just talk about this for a while?"

She shrugged as if she were tired of the subject. "Sure, what's there to talk about?"

"The fact that in about six months I'll be gone from here," he turned slightly to face Rinoa, "And from you."

She shifted and leant her forehead against her knees, whispering, "We've talked about it so many times before."

"And yet you still get openly upset about it." Moving in closer, Jem leant his forehead against her shoulder. "Rin, I told you. There is nothing I can do about it. I'm not the richest kid around – I can't just throw down a few more hundreds here and there and stay for longer."

Rinoa turned her head to face him, sniffing. "I know."

"You've known that from the beginning," he stated as he pulled back slightly to catch her gaze.

Rinoa nodded. "Yeah."

"But at most it'll be a year that I'm away. I could always come back here and go to college on scholarship."

"I know all this, Jem. We've talked about this countless times but it just hits me hard when you start talking about it with someone else, I mean…it's real."

He closed his eyes momentarily. _I know exactly how you feel…_"Yeah I know. But hey, I'm still here right now, aren't I?"

She nodded with a smile and she sniffed and blinked her tears away.

"Let's just enjoy the time we have left together, okay?" he reassured her successfully.

"Okay." With that, Jem put his arm around her and pulled her close to him, wrapping his other arm around her to hug her. "I love you, Jem," she said quietly as she leant into his body.

"I love you, too." He replied as he planted a kiss on her forehead and rocked her gently. _Why can't this moment last?_

Squall stepped back from the front door's screen and turned away. Glancing over his shoulder he saw the image again: his best friend holding the girl he loves. A sad smile appeared on his face as he paced back into the dining room.

Looks like I'm too late…

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A/N-Thanks heaps to everyone who reviewed! I realise I've been dead for so long that people ahve probably forgotten about lil ole me :) quite understandable. I blame myself completely and I apologise profusely! SCHOOL IS EVIL! raise your hands if you think school is evil whole room puts up their hands well, I rest my case. Now! please, please, please review! it would mean a helluva lot to me! thanks again to everyone who did and I'll see if I can do individual responses next chapter . Thanks again!

**Don't forget to review! 3 e.t.**


	5. Chapter 4: Girls and Gossip

Disclaimer: um…I have a computer! That's about it…I lead a very boring life. Trust me.

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**Chapter 4: Girls and Gossip**

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_"I know you had to go away  
I died just a little, and I feel it now  
You're the one I need  
I believe that I would cry just a little  
Just to have you back now  
Here with me"_

_- Here With Me (Michelle Branch)_

* * *

**. . .******

The sea of blue and white clothed students began moving off the front courtyard of Deling Grammar to make their way to their respective homerooms at the sound of the bell. Quistis, clad in her uniform consisting of a white blouse and blue kilt, scanned the crowd before her, biting her lip in anticipation. She saw Jeremy and waved him over, though he wasn't who she was looking for.

The blonde girl smiled at him warmly while still examined the plethora of people hastily vacating the yard. "Hey Jem, you seen Rin?"

"Not since last night," he shook his head.

Her eagerness to find Rinoa diminished slightly. "Oh, so you were the one who interrupted our conversation last night."

"I don't think so," Jem frowned, "She was talking to Squall when I came."

"Who's Squall?" she queried.

"He's actually a friend of mine from Esthar, but he used to live here ages ago."

Quistis' eyes widened. "Oh Squall! Brown hair and gorgeous blue eyes?!"

"Umm…yeah, I guess." Jem lifted an eyebrow, suppressing a laugh. _'Gorgeous' blue eyes? That's something I've never heard before._

"I used to have a crush on him! Don't tell Rin though, she's always hated him _and _Seifer. Those two were the worst when they were together. But wow!" she grinned. "So he's back, is he? What's his last name again?"

"Leonhart."

"That's right. So that's probably why she was silent for a while." Instantly, her scanning-the-crowd game resumed. "Man! I have to find her! I need details. Shit!" Quistis exclaimed as she saw a teacher walking in their direction. "We better go before we're late. I'll just ask Rin in Chemistry. See ya, Jem!" she shouted back as they made their ways to their lockers in separate directions.

"Later, Quistis," he replied with a wave. _Girls and gossip – a dangerous match._

- - -

Rinoa hugged her books and entered the lab, making her way to her usual bench where Quistis was already seated. Putting her books down, she crossed her arms and leant against the pile she'd just relinquished.

"Today is a good day," Rinoa smiled, receiving a raised eyebrow from her friend.

"You're in a good mood," the blonde stated, a nod being her response. "It must be the fact that Squall's back in the neighbourhood." Quistis smirked as the smile on her friend's face diminished.

"I take back my previous comment. How the hell did you know?" she said with a frown as she took her place next Quistis.

"I'm psychic," she said, wiggling her fingers and leaning closer to Rin, who raised an eyebrow unbelievingly. "Jem told me this morning. So what happened last night?" Quistis asked in a sort of hushed voice.

Rinoa narrowed her eyes. "What makes you think _anything _happened last night?"

"Just humour me. Besides, you with someone you hate – something was bound to happen."

"Fine, fine. At recess, though," she replied as she eyed her Chemistry teacher starting to write notes on the board.

"So?" Quistis queried as soon as the bell for recess went. "What happened?"

"Nothing, he came over with his parents for dinner, it turns out the parentals have organised to have a weekend by the coast, so I'll be stuck with him in the same house for two or three days," Rin shrugged nonchalantly.

"What else?"

The black haired girl cocked her head to one side. "What makes you think anything else happened?!"

Quistis narrowed her eyes. "I'm not stupid, Rin. Come on…tell me!"

"Ugh!" she exclaimed as she threw up her hands in exasperation. "Fine…he's coming to Irvine's party this Saturday cos my mom won't let me unless he goes."

"Really?! That's so cool!" Quisty beamed.

Rinoa raised her eyebrows. "It is?"

"Well yeah, I mean I haven't seen him for ages, it'll be cool to catch up and everything."

"Oh trust me, you'll have plenty of time to 'catch up'. He's starting here next Monday."

"How cool!"

"Do I need to remind you how much I detest him?" Rinoa snapped impatiently.

"No…but it was so long ago Rin, can't you just let bygones be bygones," she offered softly, not to sound too demanding.

"That's a bit rich coming from you, Quisty. I never asked you to forgive Zell for deleting that really important assignment for English last term, did I? And you still hold it over his head."

"I guess, but I'm still nice to him. And I don't hate him with a passion."

"That's 'cause what he did to you was nothing compared to what Squall did to me."

Quistis sighed feeling slightly sorry for her friend. _How do I put this… _"Rinny, I'm sure Squall didn't mean for your dad to…you know."

"Yeah, but it is his fault for pulling that stupid prank in the first place. Don't worry, I've promised him that I'll be civil."

She raised her eyebrows at this development. "Oh really, now. How'd that happen?"

"Totally different story." They had arrived at Rinoa's locker and Quistis leant against the one adjacent.

"You're not going to tell me?" she asked as she swiped a lolly from one of the shelves in Rin's locker.

"I'd rather not. What have we got next?"

"Physics and Geo. Come on, it can't be _that _embarrassing."

Rinoa stopped unpacking her books and threw a glance at her friend. "Yes it can."

"I'll be the judge. Come on, spill!"

She bit her lip in hesitation before turning to face Quistis. "Okay. Well after dinner, mom told me to take Squall into the kitchen and get him dessert. So I took him into the kitchen then pulled him into the spare bedroom-"

Quistis' eyes dilated in a second. "What?! Rin! I thought you hated him! Worse! You have a boyfriend! How could you cheat on Jem, he absolutely loves you!"

"Oh my God. What do you think I am? Some kind of tart!? Let me finish! As if I'd cheat on Jem with him!" Rinoa shook her head unbelievingly, cringing as the very thought. Flicking Quistis on the forehead she continued, "Anyway, as I was saying, I pulled him into the room and started telling him off. And I was so close to hitting his tummy when-"

"He grabbed you and took advantage of you! I knew he wasn't to be trusted," she interrupted, yet again, sarcasm dripping off every word.

"NO! He blocked my attack and held my arms behind my back, then he said he wouldn't let go until I promised to be nice and non-violent."

"So you complied? Wow! This is a turn for the better I'd say."

"As if I was gonna go against someone who's done taekwondo! He had the upper hand and besides, he's Jem's bestfriend," Rinoa finished as she closed her locker door.

"Ahh…I see. What an interesting little pickle," Quistis pondered as they resumed down the corridor to her own locker.

"Hardly."

"I can't wait to see him again on Saturday."

Rinoa rolled her eyes. "Oh, happy thoughts."

- - -

Rinoa hummed the tune playing in the background as she chose her outfit from her walk-in wardrobe. Finally deciding on her favourite pair of jeans and a red halter-top, she took out the garments and tossed them onto her bed. Hearing footsteps with a purpose pounding up the stairs, she waited momentarily before getting changed, not wanting to be caught in the middle of the act by anyone, even if it was her mother who barged into the door without to much as a knock.

"Rinny, Squall's downstairs. Hurry up and get changed so you can keep him company. He's in the TV room, but try not to take too long." Without waiting for a response, Mrs Caraway closed the door and made her way back down the stairs.

The black haired girl turned to the clock on her wall and narrowed her eyes. _6:45. Talk about being punctual._ Breathing a sigh of disbelief, she changed out of her sweatpants and shirt into her outfit. Stepping closer to her mirror, she applied some lip-gloss before stepping back to observe herself entirely. After lifting and lowering her head in various positions several times she finally smiled at herself contentedly, grabbed her already packed bag and turned off her stereo. Taking one last look into her room, trying to remember whether or not she'd forgotten anything, she closed the door to her darkened room and ambled down the stairs into the TV room.

Rinoa observed how Squall impatiently flicked through each channel. She said nothing, but somehow he'd sensed her presence. "You know, with 150 channels you'd think there'd be something worthwhile to watch."

"Well keep going, you're only on channel 78," she smirked as he continued on his hunt.

Squall turned slightly, mirroring her expression. "Thanks for the encouragement. Got a preference?"

"Not really. Me and mom don't really watch all that much TV."

"Then what's the point in having cable?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Keeps kids busy during parties. Besides, mom really isn't too worried about where the money goes."

"Which would explain your life of luxury."

"More or less." She watched Squall smile slightly as if she'd just supported one of his thoughts about her. "That doesn't mean I'm a spoiled little princess, though," Rinoa added with a frown.

"Oh no, I wasn't thinking that at all," he replied sarcastically.

"Evidently," Rinoa stated before turning to see who'd rung the doorbell. When she opened the door and saw it was Jem, she stepped forward to kiss him. "You owe me."

"For?"

Rinoa threw him a look that said 'you know what I'm talking about.'

"Ah…Squall's here then?" he nodded knowingly.

"Yup."

Jem held a breath momentarily, releasing it when he'd convinced himself that everything would turn out fine. "Well let's go then." To which Rinoa acquiesced, calling for Squall to 'get up off his ass'.

Little did they know what lay ahead of them that night.

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**. . .**

A/N-ok...the formatting was stuffy uppy on IE so I hope I've fixed it all up. ok...yeah, next chapter will probably have more meat to it but as I said, this is a prety simple story, not very 'deep' at all. So yeah, I hope you're all still enjoying this...i promise next chap will be better! Have a great day! Been busy all day with website updates and I almost forgot to update my fic! shock...so anyhoo, I know I've been promising individual replies for a while, but I honestly didn't have time this time. Besides, you get quick updates! what else could you want lol! so THANKS to everyone who has been R&Ring you rock my socks! . Thanks again!

**3 e.t.**


	6. Chapter 5: Hidden Affection and Family C...

Disclaimer: ugh! look at last chapter and the one before that! nothing has changed...unfortunately

.

**Chapter 5: Hidden Affection and Family Connection**

-

_"If tomorrow never comes   
I would want just one thing   
I would tell it to the stars and the sun   
I would write it for the world to see   
And it's you   
The light changes when you're in the room"_

_- It's You (Michelle Branch)_

* * *

**. . .**

Squall quietly sat in the back seat of Jem's car, observing the little scene occurring in front of him – Jem skilfully driving with one hand as his other held Rinoa's. Unexpectedly, he found himself feeling a pang of…jealousy.

_Why does she hate me so much? I've never done anything to her, hell! I don't want her to hate me since I've…always liked her. Some people would say its stupid to carry on a silly boy crush for so long, but I can't help it. Worse now since Jem's her boyfriend…but are there are rules saying you can't like your best friend's girl in **that** way? Probably…this is complicated. This is shit!_

Squall shook his head, banishing such shallow thoughts from his mind, as Jem turned into a street that was obviously their destination. The windows had begun thumping slightly a few minutes before, so Squall had no doubt when the thumping had gotten stronger that Irvine's house wasn't too far. The car stopped in front of a brightly lit house, people standing on the front yard, phones in their hands. Jem got out as soon as he turned off the car, while Rinoa flipped down the sunshield to use the mirror while she applied more lip-gloss. Squall was about to exit the vehicle but glanced back at her and said without thinking, "You look really good, Rin."

She appeared unmoved, she'd even smiled a bit until the car door had slammed, straightening out her thoughts. _What the…? Did Squall just say that…? _Frowning with a shake of the head, she got out of the car and walked over to Jem who locked the doors and put his arm around her waist and whispered into her ear, "You look stunning tonight."

"Thanks," she replied shyly with a smile.

"Did he invite the whole school or something?" Squall asked over the noise as they entered the fairly big house and observed the crowd before them.

Jem smirked. "Nah, just the whole grade."

"Which consists of?"

"247 people. Or something like that."

"Right," he replied with raised eyebrows. "Interesting crowd."

"Hey sweetie," Rinoa started as she eyed Quistis waving her over, "I'm gonna go see Quisty. Find me later?"

"Sure thing. I'll go introduce Squall to some people."

_Yes! Good! Take him out of my hands! _"Yeah alright. I'll see you later," she smiled at Jem one more time before letting goof his hand and making her way to a distracted Quistis.

"Who is that gorgeous guy you came with?" the blonde asked, still staring in the direction from which Rinoa had come.

"Hello to you too, Quisty," Rinoa replied with a raised eyebrow, glancing back at the two boys she'd come with. "Oh, you mean Jem?"

"Hi hun, funny. You _know _who I was talking about. So is _that _Squall?" she asked with a hint of a smile.

Rinoa feigned disinterest. "Yeah it is."

"Gosh, he's hot," she sighed almost dreamily, receiving another raised eyebrow from her bestfriend.

"Umm, aren't you with Seifer?"

"Not officially. Besides," Quistis continued, "Even if I was, it wouldn't mean that I can't look and not touch."

"Look? What is there to possibly look at?"

"Rinoa, do you honestly not see it? You're so caught up hating the six year old version of him you can't even see how hot he is! I'd be _really _surprised if he was still single by the end of tonight."

"I wouldn't," she murmured, glancing to the floor.

Quistis eyed her friend suspiciously. _This is so childish! _"Rin."

"What?"

"Rin!" she tried again to get eye contact. _Let's hope she's easily annoyed tonight._

The black haired girl's head shot up. "What?!"

_Oh good! _"Look at him and tell me he isn't the least bit good looking."

Rinoa rolled her eyes as Quistis turned her in the direction to face Squall who was now talking to Irvine. She actually _noticed _him for the first minute they'd spoken at her house. He was wearing dark jeans and a white button up shirt – simple but effective. She dared to look at his eyes and saw them brightly lit, obviously by the conversation he was having with Irvine. Subconsciously, she bit her lip and cocked her head slightly as if something had taken over her.

_I…can't believe I never noticed it before. Squall really is…something. What the hell…? I'm with Jem! I shouldn't be thinking like that about someone else, least of all his bestfriend. But his eyes…there's something about his eyes. And his smile…_

_Yum…_

_…Shit! Quistis is right! I **have** been deluding myself by picturing him in his state ten years ago. But now…_

"Ugh! Fine, I guess you are a _little _bit right. He isn't unfortunate looking, I'll give him that much," she stated rather shakily, her eyes still trained on Squall.

"Ahem," Quistis coughed, shaking Rin out of her reverie.

"What?! I already admitted it ok."

The blonde smiled shrewdly. "I _know _you, Rin. You give him much more credit in that mind of yours."

"I DO NO-"

"And don't try to deny it," she cut in quickly, having anticipated her friend's course of action. "I saw you smile and tilt your head just then. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"Whatever, listen can we go get a drink?"

_Sure…change the subject why don't you. _"Yeah, alright. Come on," she acquiesced as she went to lead Rinoa in the direction of the kitchen.

Rinoa followed suit, turning back to glance at Squall who'd caught her gaze. Almost as quickly, she turned back around, closing her eyes and biting her lip nervously.

_What had just happened?_

- - -

Squall frowned to himself before looking back at where Rinoa had disappeared into the crowd. _For some reason I half expected her to glare at me…but she didn't. _His last thought made him smile momentarily.

"Hey Squall," Jem interrupted his thoughts, "Where'd Irvine get to?"

He turned and accepted the drink his friend offered him. "Oh he saw some girl, her name was Selphie I think, yeah she just arrived I think."

"Selph? Yeah, that's his girlfriend. So…" Jeremy eyed his friend cautiously, "What's up?"

"What ya mean?" Squall asked, genuinely ignorant of his friend's intent.

"Your little smile. Did some chick catch your eye?"

_You have no idea. _"Nah I was just thinking," he replied, quickly changing the subject, "Hey, you know everyone in the grade, right?"

"Umm…" Jem took a sip of his drink. "Almost. Not really. I just know 'em by face."

"Okay, so you know Emily Vella?"

"Emily Vella? Yeah, she's a pretty quiet kinda chick. Wouldn't think she'd try to attract you, how d'you know her?"

Squall frowned as if considering what Jem had just said. "I guess she _is _quiet. She's my cousin."

"Your cousin?" Jem frowned at Squall scrutinisingly, observing his features and comparing them to Emily's. "Yeah I see it. You got the same eyes. Same age as well I guess."

"She's ten days older than me. You seen her around?"

"I did actually, she was in the kitchen – a lot of girls are actually. Weird if you ask me, but anyway, I'll show you," he said as he nudged his head in a direction, Squall following closely.

"Your parties always this loud?"

"Not always, but you'd be hard pressed to find a party too much quieter. If a party is 'quiet' then it's not a party, its 'just a few friends over', despite the number of people attending," Jeremy explained, trying his best to be heard, but also taking care not to be too loud.

Squall smirked. "I see you've been around."

"No, I had Rin. She was like my first 'friend' here."

"_And _first girlfriend," he put in with a smile. "What was wrong with all the girls in Esthar?"

"Nothing…they had a problem with me. Remember? Everyone thought I was a nerd."

"Yeah, I never did get that," Squall laughed as they entered the kitchen, receiving many glances from around the room. His laugh faded at the immediate attention. _Crap…_

Jem leaned in to comment, "Having fun?"

"I'm not so sure that I am," he swallowed nervously as the numerous girls around the room eyed him.

"Well _you _better get used to it," Jem rallied with a snicker, causing Squall to turn directly towards him, his back facing the staring female eyes.

"What the hell is _that _meant to mean?"

Jem gave him an unbelieving look. "Come on Squall. Look around you. These chicks won't leave you alone until you get yourself a girlfriend."

"Why?!" Squall panicked. _I never asked for this! I hate attention from pawning tarts!_

"Because you've got 'gorgeous blue eyes'." He sniggered as he remembered Quistis' enthusiasm.

"What the…?! Who the hell said that?" _Who knows me long enough to even say that. Unless Rin said something…NO! she wouldn't say anything like that. Not about me anyway._

"Quistis."

"Who? Oh wait…blonde chick?"

"That's the one. She's right over there with Rin," Jeremy pointed past him, "But she's unofficially Seifer's girl."

"I'm not interested. I was just commenting. But Seifer, haven't seen that guy in ages."

"Umm," an uneasy voice sounded behind him. "Squall?"

He turned around at the small voice to face the slightly petite girl with mid-length hair the same colour as his own, and the same distinct, blue eyes that set him apart from any other guy. Even though her voice alone was enough to distinguish his older cousin's identity, seeing her in front of him rendered a smile.

"Hey Emily."

At her received confirmation in the flesh before her, she rushed forward and flung her arms around him, receiving many odd stares.

- - -

"What is Emily doing?" Rinoa frowned as she watched the shy girl throw her arms around her 'enemy'. "Who the hell dared her to do that?"

Quistis threw her an unbelieving look. "How dya know she was dared?"

"'Cause it's Emily – she never does that sort of thing, even if she does have something against me," she replied as she crossed her arms, eyes still fixed on the exchange occurring between Squall and Emily.

"Okay, so first she's not allowed to hit on any guys and now she has something against you. Aren't you going a bit too far now, Rin?" Quistis rallied, a little annoyed with her friend's behaviour.

"I'm not saying she can't hit on a guy, it's just unusual." Rinoa lifted an eyebrow as she saw Emily laugh and tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Very unusual."

"Well I think it's a great breakthrough. And just 'cause she doesn't flirt or hang around guys at school doesn't mean she's totally against interaction with them out side of school."

"I guess," Rinoa stated distractedly as she continued watching the two. For a fleeting moment, she frowned as she saw Emily glance at her nervously and continue talking to Squall.

_They're probably talking about me right now – how they have so many similarities and how they just both happen to despise me. Oh those two are made for each other if that's the case. Oh its disgusting! How could she put herself in that position. Someone has definitely spiked her drink! Why do I even care? I mean, **I** try to always be nice, she's the one that always finds some excuse to not be within a metre's range of me. What the…?_

Rinoa frowned and nudged at Quistis. Together they watched the two subjects of their staring exit the room, heading for the back yard.

- - -

"Oh my God, Squall! It really is you!" The brunette exclaimed as she stepped back from her hug with Squall. "What are you doing here?!"

"Dad had to move back. I thought I'd surprise you. Man, I haven't seen you in ages! You haven't changed a bit, I swear you still look like you're thirteen."

Emily's gaze faltered downward as she laughed at his comment, pushing the strands of hair that had fallen out of her face and behind her ear. "I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing."

"Well I meant it with good intentions, but you girls are weird and always take compliments the wrong way," he continued childishly.

"We do not! Who brought you anyway?!"

"Jem, here," he answered as he motioned to his silent friend who smiled at his cousin. "And Rinoa."

"Rinoa?" she asked nervously as she glanced past Squall at Rinoa who was looking at them. "You came with her?"

"Yeah, why? What's up?"

"It's just that well…umm…" she started as her focus shifted from Squall to Jem as if to say 'I don't want him to hear'.

Squall caught on and offered they go outside where they could talk normally without the blaring music and voices. "I'll see you later, Jem. I haven't seen my cuz in ages. I really wanna catch up."

"Yeah sure, go ahead. See ya around Emily."

With that Emily lead the way out of the kitchen to the backyard area designated for cellphone users. Once they'd escaped the noise from within, they settled on sitting on the cold, cement stairs leading up into the ornate gazebo.

_Crap! This guy is loaded! They all must be around this area… _"So, what's the matter? I've never seen you this uncomfortable about anything."

Emily gulped nervously. "You said you came with Rinoa, right?"

"Yup."

"So are you two on…'good terms' or something?"

"Hardly 'good terms', Em," he replied with a laugh.

"Yeah well, I figured if she still hated Seifer that she'd hate you too."

"Gee, you're not just a pretty face," he nudged at her playfully. "To tell you the truth she does hate me and I have no idea why."

Emily swallowed once more before replying. "I do."

Squall frowned as his head quickly turned to face his cousin. "You do?"

"Yeah…" She could feel Squall's intent gaze on her, but she kept her's far away from his. "I know how much you used to like her. I don't know if you still do. But I'm so sorry.

"Sorry about what?" he tried once again to catch her gaze.

Finally she turned to him with a sigh and bit her lip. "It's all my fault."

* * *

**. . .**

A/N - wo0t! another update! I'm totally loving this! I never realised how long I'd initially intended this fic to be, but wow! I stumbled upon some notes I'd written about this fic's plot and everything and I had no idea how much I'd already planned out! Well that's a good thing I must say! Easier for me too . Anyhoozy! Please review! It means so much to me and I really love to see how you all are finding my fic, my writing style, and just anything in general. Even if it's just a line to say you read it...that would be great! And here they are! Finally! REVIEWER RESPONSES! See?! You even get something from me in return ....So here it goes starting from chapter 2/installment 3:

> **Noacat:** I think you're one of the only people who feel sorry for Rinoa. Personally I think she's being a brat, but hey! She'll come around in the end ;) Thanks heaps for the review!
> 
> **Angelprinczess29: **AH! It's YOU! AH! I cna't believe you're actually still reading my fic! I cna't believe anyone still is! It mightn't have been the longest gap between updates, but still! I had my doubts...THANKYOU SO MUCH! It means so much that one of my favourite authors takes the time to R&R...as I've said many a time before...thanks again! . huggles
> 
> **Black Demon567: **I'm sorry for that huge gap, though its nothing compared to my freind who hadn't updated in a year and it was her last chapter to be posted or sumthing...I won't do anything that drastic! I hope shifty eyes...Thankyou so much for taking the time to R&R...YOU ROCK!
> 
> **archangle3000: **Thanks for the review! Who says it's gonna be rin to tell Squall? hint, hint hehehe. hope you enjoyed this chapter!
> 
> **Dark Angels: **I certianly hope this chapter didn't bore you out of your mind! thanks for reviewing! .
> 
> **angel broken-sorrow:** You wouldn't be hte only one who's angry at Rinoa. I acutally find myself telling her off mentally all the time! But then I remember! SQUINOA GOODNESS! And that sorta stuff shall come soon! in about 3 chapters hahaha I think, but don't hold me to that...I'm not sure yet. Anyhoozy, sorry about the wait once again and thankyou so much for tkaing the time to R&R.
> 
> **Just a Friend:** When i first read your review i was like...what the? 20, 22? But s'all good now hehehe. Glad to hear you're enjoying it and thanks for reviewing!
> 
> **bakashinji01:** this chapter was a little longer, yes? The party was gonnabe ust one chapter but then I figured it'd be uber long so i cut it in half...kinda. Anyhoo! Hope you like this chappy and won't forget to review hint, hint hehehe. SALAMAT!

Chapter 3:

> **Noacat:** again! Squall...well what can I say?! he's so in love with Rinoa! And I hafta kill of Jem eventually, pity for me cos he's based on someone [special] I know ;) lol! thanks for the review! you're such a good reader that you get two, maybe even 3, responses! cheers to ya!
> 
> **ayumi-hamasaki:** o0o0o I really like Ayumi Hamasaki - just thought I'd put that in hehehe. Thanks for reviewing! .
> 
> **Angelprinczess29: **misundetstanding indeed! And all shall be revealed drum roll NEXT CHAPTER! I think -. thanks again! you rule my school! [trying something differenet from 'you rock my socks'...how'd this one work? lame, eh?]
> 
> **Black Demon:** Oh the tables will turn, trust me...Squall won't be so very poor anymore and Rin...well...she gets put in place . I can't wait for that moment!...I think, hehehe I'm not really certain of anything atm! I'm so lame...so thanks for revieiwng anyway!
> 
> **Dark Angel:** You're meant to all like Jem as much as I do shifty eyes not as much as Squall, but not hate him...but he will go eventually, it might take some time, but trust me...it will happen. Theen...SQUINOA! hahaha thanks again!
> 
> **Rinoa Leonheartilly: **Yes Jem will leave soon and Squall is poor [not literally, but you know what I mean]...all will turn out right in the end...I hope hahaha. thanks for the review!
> 
> **angel broken-sorrow:** How was the subtle Squinoa action in this chappy?! I loved it, but that's just me hehehe. Yeah chapter 4 was mroe or less to introduce Jem and distinguish the fact that he and Squall were good friends, and also to hint Squall's feelings. But yeah! thanks for reviewing all the same! .
> 
> **School IS Evil:** Goodness I like your alias hahaha! thankyou so much for R&Ring! Means a great deal to me .
> 
> **DBH:** Well I personally like Jem, he's a really nice guy...really! And all will be revealed soon, trust me, I deal with all of your questions...I think. I don't sound very convincing to I? hahaha thanks for reviewing all the same!
> 
> **Sickness in Salvation: **If you're look for Squall/Seifer interaction you should check out my other fic 'Moonlight Sonata' - it's the comic relief of the fic, not to adverstise or anything =S...oh and theres always a hint of Seiftis in all my fics hehehe. THANKS FOR REVIEWING! I'm so glad you're enjoying it!
> 
> **zornoid13: **thankyou so much for reviewing! .

Chapter 4:

> **bakashinji01: **My next fic 'Once in a Lifetime' will come out when I finish this one. I don't want to have to be writing two fics at once...I've tried it before and I just get confused hahaha. Thanks for your interest though and for revieiwng!
> 
> **Noacat:** Rinoa portrayed?! hahaha, I'm ashamed to say a lot of my personality is coming through Rin's character. I hope you liked this chapter! Thankyou so much for your continual support!
> 
> **Dark Angels:** How's the party turning out for you? More 'interesting' stuff should happen next chapter I hope, if I remember hahaha. thanks for your interest!
> 
> **Sickness in Salvation:** called the 'cliffy effect', m'dear. Hahaha...thanks for the review!
> 
> **Black Demon567:** Sure I'm updating quick now, just wait until i get back to school in three weeks! No such luck unfortunately, as much as I would love to! I'm in my second last year of highschool [Aussie school system different for your's obviously :) ] and it's hell! thanks for reviewing and making me feel all gooded inside! .
> 
> **Knighted:** I updated as fast as I could! Thanks for reviewing for all chapters!! I really appreciate it! I hope you enjoyed this chappy! .
> 
> **zornoid: **How was this update? Will it suffice until next update? I hope so =S...thanks again!
> 
> **angel-brokensorrow:** Well nothing that drastic happens, I don't think...but it can always be arranged ;) hahaha...thanks for your continual interest and support! your reviews means so much more than you may think! you rock!
> 
> **Buttered Angie:** Last but not least...aha! Miss Angeling herself! so...shall you have a little cameo in this fic as well? If you want one, I'm sure you can have a part arranged by yours truly. hahaha...AH! when you gonna upadte again huh?! I can't wait! and i'll try not to badger you and everything - just wait patiently [cough] hahaha. anyhoozy...thanks for reviewing! unexpected, but welcome all the same . ttyl! huggles

And that just about wraps it up! phew geez that took a while hahaha! anyhoo...please don't forget to review! I luv you all! .

**_3 e.t._**


	7. Chapter 6:Let's Face the Music and Dance

Disclaimer: You've heard it all before...

.

**Chapter 6: Let's Face the Music and Dance**

-

_Don't know what to do whenever you are near  
Don't know what to say my heart is floating in tears  
When you pass by I could fly  
Every minute every second of the day  
I dream of you in the most special way  
You're beside me all the time_

_- Don't Know What to Do, Don't Know What to Say (Lea Salonga)_

* * *

**. . .**

Squall frowned, not clearly understanding what she was saying. "_What's _your fault?"

She started slowly, "_I'm _the reason Rinoa hates you."

"How could that be? That doesn't make sense," he rallied as he gave her an unbelieving look.

"I didn't know until a couple of years ago when Rinoa was telling Quistis why she hated you and Seifer…and I overheard. It wasn't anything you did – it was all me." She eyed him warily, slowly continuing. "I've always felt guilty about what I did, but I didn't know Rinoa blamed _you _for everything."

His eyes narrowed at his cousin. After a moment, he breathed a sigh. "Okay. Wait. Back up. You wanna explain everything to me?"

"Alright." Emily swallowed nervously before beginning. "Well do you remember her sixth birthday at the park?"

"Vaguely," Squall replied with a slow nod.

"I think it was Quistis' doll you'd hidden a tree. You and Seifer were pissing yourselves laughing and Rinoa beat the crap out of you two, do you remember?"

Once again he nodded with a hint of a smile.

"You thought she beat you up because of what you did to Quistis, but really…she did it because of what _I _did to her cake."

"And what exactly did you do?" He queried, obviously amused by the memory she'd brought back to him.

She bit her lip apprehensively. "Promise not to laugh?"

"Promise."

"And you won't ever tease me about this?"

"Of course not!" Squall answered, shocked that she'd actually double-checked him. _She might as well have made me 'pinkie promise'._

She paused once again, trying to think of a way to put her thoughts together. "Well, I wasn't happy with her at that time - I was holding a grudge against her for what she did at _my _birthday party. Geez I'm so glad I got over that obsession." Emily rubbed at her head, shaking it as if she were shaking her head at the little six year old inside of her. "At my sixth birthday, she was invited and I thought she was my friend. Anyway, when it came time to blow out the candles, she wouldn't let me have such pleasure. She blew them out for me, I have photos to prove it. So when her birthday came around, I was determined to pay her back the same courtesy. Not only would she _not _blow out candles, she wouldn't have a proper birthday cake."

"So what did you do?!" He guffawed in disbelief. _I never thought Emily capable of revenge!_

_This is going to sound so unbelievably idiotic! _"Please remember I was 6 at that time and completely stupid."

Squall smirked at her. "Nothing has changed."

She quickly slapped him in reaction. "Shuttup!"

"Okay seriously, what did you do?"

"I found some dog shit and smeared it over the top…" Emily whispered, turning away from Squall in embarrassment.

He was rendered speechless for a minute or two, his mouth open with shock. "You what?!"

"I'm not repeating myself! I'm not exactly proud of what I did. I ran away and sat behind a tree as soon as I did it, just waiting to get caught. When the time came for the cake I saw her run in your direction and beat you up…" She gave Squall a sidelong glance. "Do you remember that she demanded her father to get a new one?"

"Yeah."

"And he didn't come back."

Squall breathed in deeply, putting two and two together. "Rin blames me for killing her father?"

Emily nodded silently.

"That's why she hates the sight of me," he murmured to himself.

"I feel so bad about it. My conscience never lets me forget it, and the fact that I see her everyday doesn't help either." She closed her eyes, covering her face with her hands.

"But you didn't kill her father."

"I know I personally didn't kill him. I've tried telling myself that. But if she hates you and Seifer for something she _thought _you did, how badly is she gonna hate _me _for actually do it."

"She'll have to understand."

Emily looked up at her cousin, clearly aware of what he had to do to get rid of the rift between him and Rinoa. "Why? You're going to tell her the truth, aren't you?"

"I can't have her hate me forever. I don't want her to. You don't mind my telling? Even if it means that she'll 'dislike' you?" Squall asked delicately, trying to find the right way to put it.

His cousin shrugged in response. "She doesn't like me that much, anyway. It'll be okay. As long as it works out for you." She eyed him warily, not quite sure what he was thinking. "You do know that she has a boyfriend, right?"

"Yeah I know. We're friends," he stated plainly.

Emily raised an eyebrow. "You are?"

"Yup. From Esthar. We're pretty good friends actually."

"You don't plan on breaking them up?" she queried, sounding as if she'd come to the conclusion that Squall had the intention.

_How could she think that of me?! My own cousin! _"No way! I wouldn't do that to Jem. I just don't want her to hate me," Squall explained.

"I'm sorry I let it last so long." She nudged him apologetically, allowing herself to lean her head against his shoulder.

"It's okay. Doesn't matter." Squall put an affectionate arm around her, rubbing her arm. "So how have you been? You got a boyfriend, too?"

She pulled away from him in shock. _What the…? _"Me? God no! I'm apparently a nun," Emily laughed.

He snickered in response. "Say's who?"

"Everyone," she chortled. "Except my friends."

"No way! Why?"

"Because I choose to concentrate more on my studies." Her laughter died down. "I _did _have my eye on someone. But he's taken."

"Who was it?" Squall watched as her eyes darted here and there, avoiding his gaze. Finally, after scratching her head, she glanced up at him with a shy smile.

"Jeremy."

- - -

Quistis turned to face Rinoa, mouth wide open. Rinoa's eyes were still trained upon the door that the two had exited the room by. Finally meeting her friend's gaze directly opposite her she opened her mouth to start several times, no word able to escape her mind.

"Did I just see that?" the blonde asked for Rinoa.

She could hardly find the words to say. Instead she laughed at the situation. "I think so…but…Emily!"

"Come on, there is no way Emily Vella could act that way around him unless they were really close," Quistis reasoned. "There's obviously a logical explanation. I'm sure we'll find out about it by the end of tonight."

"Probably." _I wonder what it could be…_

"Maybe they've been having a long distance relationship all this time!"

Rinoa shot her friend a doubtful look. "Spanning from the age of six? I don't think so."

"Well she used to go away during the summer holidays, didn't she? Maybe she met up with him occasionally."

"Again, it seems pretty unlikely."

"Do you have any better possibilities?"

"Nope, nor do I care," she put in, though neither she or her friend believed it.

_Yeah, sure you don't, Rin._

"Oh look who finally decided to turn up." Rinoa nodded towards the door.

Quistis turned to face that direction and smiled. "Trust Seifer to be 'fashionably' late."

She eyed him as he made his way over to them. "You do realise that if he comes over I'm gonna have to go."

"Why?"

"There's only so much room for me and his massive ego." Rinoa smirked. "Besides, I haven't talked to Irvine yet, and it is his party."

"Fine, fine. Go."

Rinoa left as soon as Seifer snaked his arm around Quistis. "Where she off to?"

"To see Irvine," Quistis replied, turning to kiss Seifer on the cheek. "Hi."

"Hey there," he smiled, pulling her slightly closer to him.

"Guess who's back in town!"

- - -

Rinoa exited the kitchen, peering over the crowd to find Irvine. Instead, she spotted a familiar black-haired boy calling her over.

"Hey, Jem, you seen Irvine?"

"Right there," he answered with a smirk, nodding his head towards the 'dance floor'.

She looked over her shoulder and saw Irvine and Selphie dancing 'rather closely'. Turning back to face Jem, she snickered profusely, leaning her forehead against his chest. After a few minutes she composed herself, glancing back at the couple dancing. "Have they had something to drink?"

"Just the usual 'Rum and Cola'."

"How _much_?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

He struggled to suppress his laughter. "Enough, I'd say. Do you wanna dance?"

Rinoa eyed him suspiciously. "How much have _you _had to drink?"

"Rin, I don't partake in underage drinking."

"Bullshit," she scoffed.

Jeremy scratched his head in defeat. "Only a few sips. I'm driving you home, remember."

"Oh, yeah."

"Why? How much have you had?"

"None. Unless you count a few drops of Midori in my lemonade," she bit her lip furtively.

"That counts," he murmured, moving closer to her, wrapping his arms around her.

Instinctively, Rinoa's arm found their way around his neck.

"Did I tell you how beautiful you looked tonight?" Jem whispered receiving a slight nod before their lips made contact.

Rinoa was about to move closer when she jumped from shock as her cell-phone vibrated in her pocket. Pulling away, she gave him an apologetic smile and, glancing at the number, rolled her eyes. _Mom_. "It's mom. I'll be right back."

Jeremy nodded in response and eased his arms from around her. "I'll be here."

She could think of no other place that would be quieter than the backyard and so made her way there, completely forgetting that Squall and Emily had exited in that direction. Answering the phone quickly, she frowned slightly. _What could be wrong? _"Hey mom, I'm just finding somewhere quiet. Gimme a few seconds." Stepping outside, a nippy wind hit her skin causing her to hug herself. She continued off the veranda and down the stairs, her eyes downcast at her feet, making sure she didn't step on anything unpleasant. "Hi, what's up?"

_"I just wanted to know if you got there safely," _Rinoa's mother asked, concern evident in her voice.

"Mom, it's Jem. Don't you trust him?"

_"Oh I'm not saying that I don't trust Jeremy. It's just that anything could've happened."_

She rolled her eyes knowingly. "What did you hear on the radio?"

_"That there'd been an accident on Elm street. That's about four blocks away form us, isn't it?"_

"Yeah it is. We're fine, mom. Nothing happened."

Mrs Caraway sighed in relief. _"Well I'm glad to hear that. How's Squall enjoying himself?"_

She hugged her arm around her some more, her head still down trying to get herself a bit warmer. "Squall? He's fine I guess. I'd say he's having a _very _good time. But I wouldn't know for sure. He went off with some chick a few minutes ago. I wonder what they could be up to," Rinoa said slyly, knowing full well how her mother would react.

_"Rinoa Caraway! That's a very horrible thing to say! I don't appreciate you saying such things about my friend's son!"_

"I was only kidding, mom. Don't worry."

_"And Jem is driving you home?"_

"Yes, mom. Me and Squall."

_"Alright then. Be sure to say good night when you get in."_

"Shall do. Bye." She hung up and stared at her phone. After the backlight had turned off she looked up, hearing a few laughs. Glancing to her right where the gazebo stood, she saw two figures sitting together on the steps. Narrowing her eyes to see better, she saw that it was Squall and Emily. _Shit…they heard what I said. _Embarrassed, she took a step back towards the house but then backtracked, making her way over to the couple. "You didn't just hear that did you?"

"Yup, completely," Squall said in between laughs.

Rinoa forced a smile. "What's so funny then?"

He pointed to himself then Emily. "The fact that you thought me and Em were…"

"Ew! Incest!" Emily squealed, her arms around her tummy.

"You and Emily are…?" Rinoa waited for them to continue.

"Cousins. We're cousins," Squall finished quickly.

_Gee…that makes sense. _"Oh, sorry about that then." She scratched her head in embarrassment.

"It's okay."

"Well, um, I'm gonna go back inside." Rinoa pointed to the house before turning to walk away.

It took Squall a second to glance at Emily and stand up, taking hold of Rinoa's arm. "Rinoa wait. There's something I need to talk to you about."

* * *

**. . .**

A/N-ACK! It's really quite late. I just came home from watching 'Spiderman 2' and its past 11:30 pm, so I hope you'll forgive me for not writing responses...I got a lot of reviews for last chapter and I...well, I'm plain lazy, but don't worry...review this chapter and you're sure to get a response if you want one ;) hehehe, tricky, tricky. I know I practically promised to update very, very regularly, and I really have tried to be on schedule every single time, but the reality is. There's only so much one can do in a day, and i spend most of mine sleeping hehehe. But seriously, I will try to keep up, but at the end of the day, if it's done then it's done and i will update. If not, well...it will only take a day or two more. Anyhoozy, thankyou everyone for R&Ring, I hope to hear from you all again and just a special [very special] note to **wcigtdniw - **I don't care how lame you think your reviews are, I LUV THEM! [huggles]. THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE!

**_3 e.t._**


	8. Chapter 7: Blameless Hate

**Chapter 7: Blameless Hate**

-

_"Honesty is such a lonely word  
Everyone is so untrue  
Honesty is hardly ever heard  
And mostly what I need from you."_

_- Honesty (Billy Joel)_

* * *

. . .

The music within the house continued playing, the continuous 'boom' of the beat resonating through the walls. Outside, Squall had taken a hold of Rinoa before she had the chance of re-entering the house, while his cousin Emily looked on with a hint of a smile present on her face. Rinoa gasped as Squall's touch sent a shiver down her spine. _Damn cold wind! _Turning, she jerked her arm from his gentle hold, folding her arms in hopes of getting warm. She avoided his glance, locking away the feeling his warm skin against her's gave. Instinctively, she lifted her chin indignantly. "What could _you _possibly have to discuss with me?"

"Oh, bitchy tone," Squall feigned intimidation.

She rolled her eyes, snapping, "Well I don't very well enjoy standing out in the cold like this. So just say what you have to say and let me return indoors."

"Alright then, don't mind if I do." Once again he glanced at his cousin. _Are you sure?_

Emily nodded in response, _Positive. Go ahead._

"Well it's not so much what I have to say, but what I have to ask." Squall fixed his gaze on Rinoa whose eyes had drifted downward. "You keep saying that you won't tell me you hate because I already know. Up until a few minutes ago I didn't, so just to be sure, do you wanna tell me why?"

Rinoa's focus snapped up to meet Squall's in vexation and…slight confusion. _Didn't know until a few minutes ago? That's bullshit, Squall. Don't you ever take a hint? _"I'm not going to discuss it with you," Rinoa deadpanned, turning away and walking toward the house again.

He was not to be quietened by her declaration…not this time. Remaining motionless, his eyes followed her as he called, "You hate me because you think I killed your father, don't you?"

The whole yard became still, save for the wind that incessantly rustled the leaves on the numerous trees and shrubs spotted around the garden. Rinoa had hardly reached the stairs leading up to the veranda when Squall had boldly voiced what she'd been thinking_. It sounds so different coming from him. It doesn't sound as believable as it does when it's just a thought. How can he make me doubt the truth? I've never doubted it – he's in the wrong and always will be._ Slowly, she turned back around to face him, and though Squall and Emily expected to see her face fuming with rage, they were surprised to see her expression completely devoid of any anger…just dysphoria. Needless to say, they expected that anger to show itself in the not too distant future.

"You have no right to bring that up at a time like this," she uttered with a broken voice. "You know," she continued with building confidence, "I should've know you'd be capable of such little sympathy. I mean, you've always been an inconsiderate, unfeeling prick – you were ten years ago, so why should you have changed now?" By now she was almost shouting. "You are the most insensitive person I've ever met and I can't believe I ever agreed to being 'civil' with you! How _can_ I when you obviously care nothing about _my _feelings or the feelings of others! I don't care how well Jem speaks of you; if I wasn't sure of it before, I am definitely sure of it now: I _hate _you!"

Squall stared back at her, feeling as if a dagger stabbed him each time she threw an insult at him. _It wasn't meant to be like this – she wasn't meant to act this way…_ He opened his mouth to say something, but Emily beat him to it.

"Rinoa," she started nervously as she stood from her sitting position. "If you hate Squall for being a prick then hate him." She glanced at Squall who gave her a look that said 'thanks a lot.' Smiling for an instant, she returned her focus to Rinoa whose eyes were boring into Emily. "But if you're going to hate him for something you _think_ he did ten years ago, then please don't."

"Why not?" Rinoa challenged. "What gives _you _the right to decide whether or not I should hate someone? Him being your cousin, Emily, does nothing to soften my views on him."

"I know that. But the fact that I know the truth_ should _give me that right."

The black haired girl's eyes narrowed. "And what is this _truth_?"

Emily looks straight into Rinoa's eyes, swallowing nervously. "That _I _was the one who put the shit on your cake. Squall had nothing to do with it."

"It's valiant of you to try to take the blame off your cousin, but I know what I saw and I _saw _Squall and Seifer laughing at me when I found my cake."

Rinoa's opponent was not thus to be discouraged. "And _I_ know what I _did_. Squall and Seifer weren't laughing at you."

She raised an eyebrow. "Then enlighten me, _why _were they laughing?"

"Because we'd hidden Quistis' doll in a tree," Squall finally voiced.

Rinoa recalled a six-year-old Quistis running up to her and complaining that 'Seifer had stolen her most favourite-est doll and wouldn't give it back_. "Squall and Seifer keep laughing. I just want my doll back!"… "If I did know why, I wouldn't ask?"…What if Squall really didn't know? What if he really is blameless… _She shook the thoughts from her head. _That's not possible…there's something else I don't know though. Based on what Emily just said… _"What reason did _you_ have to put shit on my cake?"

"You blew out the candles at _my_ birthday and I was a stupid girl at that age – not much had changed, really." Emily gave Squall a small, lopsided smile. "Listen, Rin. I'm sorry for what I did and what happened to your Dad. I just…I just _had _to clear this up. I couldn't let you be under that illusion anymore. I've never been able to look at you straight since. You have no idea how bad I've felt about it."

The girl opposite her remain silent. _I blew out her candles? _Rinoa frowned as if to recall a memory. _I did blow out her candles. It totally makes sense. After I did that she gave me the cold shoulder for months and up until now I thought she had a problem with me when she was really feeling guilty. It totally makes sense. But if what Emily says is really true, that means… _She closed her eyes at the realisation. "It _was_ you, wasn't it?" Rinoa asked to be sure.

Emily nodded dumbly.

Rinoa glanced at Squall who stared back with nothing but earnest in his eyes. _…that means I've hated them both all this time…and for what? Nothing. This is too much! It's not possible! _Turning on her heel, she quickly paced up the stairs and across the veranda, gasping at the instant warmth as she re-entered the house, glad to be leaving the sight of the two outside. Inside she scanned the crowd desperately for Jem, quickly shifting her gaze when it caught sight of Seifer. Finally she made her way back to where she'd left him earlier.

His smile turned into a concerned frown as she approached. "Rin, what's wrong?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she took his hand and pulled him towards the front door, through which they exited. The front yard had emptied of the cell-phone talkers since they'd arrived and Rinoa was glad that they were alone. She led him to the far end of the veranda where she turned to face him, burying her head in his chest. They stayed like that for a few minutes, Jeremy having no idea what the matter with his girlfriend was settled for hugging her to closer. It wasn't until he heard her sniff that he realised she was crying. _But why? _Instinctively, he gently took hold of her shoulders and pushed her slightly away to get a look at her. Her eyes were red and her cheeks puffy with tear stains on both of them.

"Rinoa, what happened?" he started slowly. "Come on, baby, talk to me."

She sniffed once more, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand, keeping her gaze levelled at Jem's tainted shirt. "What would you do if you found out you were wrong about something for a _really _long time?"

"I-"

"What would you do," Rinoa continued, "If you hated someone for so long and, after one night, no longer had reason to?"

"Rinny, is this about Squall?" Jem put forward cautiously.

Rinoa nodded in response, replacing her forehead against his chest. "I've been wrong all this time – do you know what that feels like?"

_Actually I don't, I'm never wrong – no time to be a smartass, Jem_. Instead he queried, "What happened?"

"I found out that Squall and Seifer were innocent of every single thing I blamed them for. They had nothing to do with anything, and I've hated them mercilessly for ten years."

"Well," she started slowly, "I guess there's only one thing you can do."

"And what would that be?" she lifted her head to meet his gaze.

"To apologise."

"Easier said than done, Jem."

"It doesn't have to be like that."

Rinoa narrowed her eyes at him in scorn. "Can you honestly imagine how humiliating this will be for me?"

"Well you've let this last this long, I'd say the humiliation is something you're going to have to deal with." She opened her mouth to protest, but Jem continued. "If you weren't so stubborn you would've learnt that moving on is a really big part of life. Sweetie, what happened ten years ago is done and it can't be changed. So I think you ought to forgive whoever you think is responsible, because I don't think they meant to cause you that much pain, and apologise to those that you've hurt. You're so self-centred sometimes that you don't realise how many people you push away when you act like that. Life's too short to hold grudges, Rin." He glanced at her and, afraid she'd read into what he'd said, added, "I'm on your side, Rinoa. Even if Squall wasn't my bestfriend I'd still think he deserves an apology. As much as I love you, I can't help think that you get a bit too childish at times. So what do you say? Will you let bygones be bygones?"

She remained silent for sometime. _How could he say that to me! Jem's always been so caring, but he can be so…aggravating! And right. I hate this! I hate being wrong! I hate being corrected! I'm such a hypocrite! I hate this! Jem's right…he's always right. ARGH! Stupid, stupid pride! _"Fine," Rinoa finally replied sharply.

Jem blinked in surprise. "What?"

"I'll let it go. But don't expect me apologise at once, let me do it in my own time, alright?"

"You got it." He smiled and pulled her in for a hug, planting a kiss in her hair. "Do you want me to take you home now?" A nod was his response. "I'll have to tell Squall that I'll pick him up later. You can go wait in the car if you want." Jem stuck his hand into his pocket to get his keys.

"No, I'll go with you. There's something I have to do."

He frowned. "I thought you weren't going to apologise at once."

"Who says I'm going to apologise to Squall? I have to deal with Emily and she's with him." Rinoa wiped her eyes once more and smiled. "Do I look like I've been crying?"

"Yeah, it's kinda hard to hide that," he honestly replied.

"Well I guess it's a good thing I don't wear mascara." She paused to do up his jacket, covering the stains she'd made with her waterworks. "Sorry 'bout that."

"S'all good. See how easy it is," Jeremy smirked.

"Don't push your luck, buddy," Rinoa deadpanned. "Just 'cause I let you off the hook for that lecture, doesn't mean I'll let you off for every smart comment you make."

"And yet, I _still _love you."

- - -

After Rinoa stormed off it took Squall a few minutes to recollect his thoughts, replaying the events that had just passed over in his head. Squall then watched as his cousin buried her face in her hands. Unexpectedly, he began clapping. Emily's head shot up to face him, a frown in place.

"What on earth did I do to warrant an applause? I put shit on a cake, yeah, something to be _really_ proud of," she scoffed.

He smiled at her. "No, but you did get through to her."

"How do you know that?"

"Would she have stormed off like that if, after all you said, she was right? She would've stayed and told us off a bit more. But no, I think she knows that what you said is the truth."

Emily's eyes narrowed. "Shit Squall, you've been back here, for what? A week? And you already know everything about everyone."

"Just three days actually. I don't know everything about everyone. I just know Rinoa, and she hasn't changed, as you could probably tell."

She finally laughed.

"Hey Em," Squall started with a slight tilt of his head. "_Am _I a prick?"

She smiled mischievously. "No, I just added that for effect."

"Nice touch," he deadpanned.

"I thought so."

Squall stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, I've just never made an enemy before."

"It'll be alright. Now, what were we talking about?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "Will you get off it? I'm determined to do nothing but admire him from afar. He has a girlfriend, may a remind you."

"I know, and _I'll _admire _her _from afar."

"What ever happened to that chick you were going out with last time I visited?"

"Who? Lara?"

"Yeah that's her name. Well?"

Squall shrugged. "She broke up with me. She said I 'wasn't paying enough attention to her'," he mocked his ex-girlfriend's whiny voice. "I can't believe I let that last more that three months."

"I told you she was annoying! Why don't you ever listen to your older cousin?" she smiled as she shoved him.

"You're _ten_ days older than me. But hey, thanks Em."

"What for? Warning you about Lara? My pleasure!"

He shook his head. "Nah, for what you did tonight."

"It's okay. I gotta look out for my little cousin now, don't I?"

"Whatever. Oh yeah, I probably won't be going home with Jem anymore-"

"Why not?" Emily frowned, then nodded at the realisation.

"Rinoa," they said in unison.

"Dad's picking me up so I guess you can hitch a ride with us. Are you living at the same house as before?"

"Yep, same rooms and all."

"That house is huge! I always wondered what happened to it."

"Well mom and dad rented it out for the first five years we were gone, just to help pay it off. Then they just left it alone. It's kinda weird being in my old room. Really freaky. You remember that shifty floor board in my room we found with Ellone?"

"Yeah? It's still there?" Her eyes widened.

"You bet! And guess what's still there."

"No way! That wacky board game we made up!"

Squall nodded. "Down to every single stone we collected to use as pieces. Your handwriting was shocking!"

"What are you talking about? I didn't write it, Ell did. I did the drawings on the stones and you cut out the shapes and stuff. Do you have any idea how to play anymore?"

"Nuh! How is Ell, by the way?"

"Oh gee, my lovely older sister? She's off studying in Balamb. She tries to call every week, but mom and dad end up calling her every few days. They are so paranoid sometimes." Emily rolled her eyes.

"They aren't _that_ bad."

She gave him an unbelieving look. "That's 'cause _you _don't live with them."

"True."

"You wanna go inside? It's getting rather cold, don't you think?"

"Yeah, come on."

They were about to ascend the wooden stairs when two figures came out from the door. Squall and Emily stepped back as Rinoa and Jeremy came down to meet them. Rinoa's face was blank and she bit her lip as she extended her arm to Emily.

The brown haired girl frowned and glanced at her cousin. _What the hell?_

"I'm sorry, Emily."

* * *

**. . .**

A/N - AH! Horrid winter! It's freezing up my imagination! not good, no0t good! But it is okay, i will go against anything, short of a gun and anything that can kill, to write my fic hahaha. I'm just going to make this short and unfortunate don't have time to write responses because I'm going to ballet in a few minutes hehehe. but a quick question, I've assumed through my 2 and a half fics that Squall's eyes are blue and I went on a massive websearch yesterday for piccies of Squally when I got a review that said his eyes were stormy grey. Someone wanna clarify this for me? Anyhoozy...Just want to thank _**Dark Angels, Noacat, zornoid13, angel-brokensorrow, TheBlackRose5, Angelprinczess29 **- [update your fic! I can't wait for the next installment!]**, Sickness in Salvation **- [I thought about a catfight, I couldn't do it though hehehe] **, Vergil** - [I could've sworn his eyes were blue...but thanks for the heads up!] **, wcigtdniw **- [SPIDEY IS HEAPS GOOD! you should so see it! and yes Emily does tend to show a bit more of me than anything else hahaha luv ya mate! enjoy your holz!]**, shinji** - [Jem doesn't leave for a while, sorry. but i kind of like Jem! him being based on someone i know and everything hehehe]**.** _Thanks you guys! please R&R! I appreciate all of your comments! [huggles] You all rock!

**_3 e.t._**


	9. Chapter 8: Last Week: Fight, This Week: ...

Disclaimer: the only thing I own is the storyline....oh and Jeremy Scathe hehehe...everything else belongs to someone else...you know who you are.

**Chapter 8: Last Week: Fight, This Week: Tight - Part 1**

-

_Well I wonder could it be  
When I was dreaming 'bout you baby  
You were dreaming of me  
Call me crazy, call me blind  
To still be suffering is stupid after all of this time_

__

_- The Day You Went Away (M2M)_

* * *

. . .

Emily stood speechless, staring thoughtlessly at the outstretched before her. She swallowed nervously, uncertain of what she was thinking and what she was to do. _I should probably shake her hand, I mean there's no reason I should let this rift continue…but wait, what is she apologising for in the first place?_ "What are you apologising for?"

"For acting the way I did earlier. It _has_ been ten years and there's no reason why I should continue to hate you, or anyone for that matter," she said with a quick glance at Squall. "I'm sorry for acting really bitchy and stuff towards you and I hope that we can be friends."

"Me too." Emily smiled as she took Rinoa's hand and shook it. "Apology accepted. I'm really sorry for not telling you sooner."

"It's okay."

Squall went to say something a long the lines of 'what about me?', but Jem quickly shot a look at him telling him not to say anything. "So I'm gonna take Rin home now, alright? I'll be back to pick you up later, Squall."

"Nah it's cool, Jem. I'm getting a ride from Em."

Jeremy glanced at Emily whose eyes were darting here and there nervously. Momentarily, she allowed herself to look him in the eye. "Dad's coming soon anyway since I hafta be home soon, and I suppose he is my cousin so I have that obligation."

His eyes narrowed at her. "Gee thanks, Em. Your compassion, it really warms my heart." He put his hand on his heart for emphasis.

Rinoa watched the exchange in amusement, a small smile forming on her lips. Squall glanced at her fleetingly, catching her expression. He was about to smile back, when her eyes faltered down then up again at Jem before she turned, murmuring, "I'll see ya at school." She let her eyes track back to Squall before she proceeded up the short flight of stairs.

Her boyfriend acted upon the prompt, smiling at them both. "Talk to you later, Squall. Bye Emily."

Emily shot him a shy smile before casting her eyes down, embarrassed. "See ya later."

Jem smiled once more before following his girlfriend.

Squall smirked as they were, once again, left by themselves. "Were you trying to be subtle?"

"On second thoughts, I might not get dad to drop you off," she deadpanned sarcastically.

He slung his arm around her shoulders. "Like you could. Your dad loves me."

"That's because you're his only nephew." Emily waited for a smart remark in return and looked up questioningly at Squall when she got none. "What's up?"

"Huh?"

She frowned. "Why are you staring at the door? Do you want to go in?"

"I'm just thinking," he said as his gaze remained on the door.

"About Rinoa."

"I dunno…its just sometimes I get the feeling that-"

Emily shook her head with disapproval. "Don't go there buddy."

Squall took his arm from around her. "What?!"

"You do _not_ wanna go there," she stated in advice.

He sighed and let his head hang. "I know that nothing can happen cos Jem is-"

"Your best friend."

"Right and that would totally go against the rules. But it's okay that I like her, yeah?"

Emily bit her lip nervously. "To an extent. But don't make it too obvious, please! I don't want Jeremy fighting you on this."

"Why not?" he asked suspiciously.

Her eyes narrowed. "Because if it came down to that, I'm not sure who I'd side with."

"Ouch! That's twice in one night," he feigned pain, screwing up his face. "I'm beginning to regret coming back."

"No you don't," she quickly replied as her cell-phone sounded. Pulling it out of her pocket momentarily, she glanced up at Squall. "You coming or not?"

"Already?"

"Yeah. I usually get dad to pick me up early. That way I don't have to witness things getting ugly, as they always do."

He raised an eyebrow at him.

"You do _not_ want to know what I mean. Trust me on this. You haven't even started school yet. What happens might totally change your opinion of people and most of them really aren't that bad." She shook her head as he merely stood staring at her with a lopsided smile. Grabbing his hand, she pulled him towards the door. "Ugh! Come on. Dad's already out front."

"Fine, fine. But tell me something," Squall shouted upon re-entering the overcrowded, thunderous beats of Irvine's house.

"What?"

"Would you be as willing to go if a certain person, whom shall remain nameless, was still here?"

An icy glare was thrown at him from over her shoulder. "I don't know why I tell you _anything_."

He caught up with her and slung an arm around her, continuing at her pace. "'Cause I'm your favourite cousin."

"They say that thoughts become things, so you keep thinking that."

"Whatever, Em."

. . .

"So anyway, he was all trying to be sweet and everything and then I was like, 'okay, what's going on here'… Rin? Are you even listening?" Selphie exchanged glances with Quistis as she observed Rinoa who was staring across the crowded playground where he was walking with Jem.

The blonde clicked in front of her face. "Okay, hun, you have got to just go over there and apologise – how hard could it possibly be? Hold Jem's hand if you have to, just do it already!"

Rinoa's eyes narrowed. "Who says I actually want to apologise?"

"Oh come on! Get of it already! You just spent the past class thinking about walking up to him then shaking your head."

"Ugh! I don't want to talk about it. I honestly don't know why the hell I tell you two anything." Placing her fork down in her lunch box, she joined her hands forcefully, smiled and fixed her stare on Selphie. "So what were you saying Selph? The milk boy in the supermarket was hitting on you?"

"Not exactly, but he was being _way_ too nice. I mean, he even followed me into the next aisle where I was meeting back with Irvine and milk boy stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Irvy."

"What a loser!" Quistis squealed. "But he was cute, yeah?"

"Yuhuh! Totally cute! But a loser all the same."

"So that's what you _really_ think of me, Selph," a voice resonated behind the petite, brunette making her turn around.

"Well hello to you, too, Jeremy Scathe. Nice to see you again, Squall!"

"Finally decided to join us, did you?" Quistis put in, glancing at Rinoa.

Squall smirked. "Well it was a huge toss up between here and being a loner – you guys only just won." He gestured with this thumb and index finger.

"So Squall," Selphie chimed in, "I didn't get to see you before you left on Saturday-"

"Yeah you did."

"I did?" she received a nod from him, responding with a giggle. "Yeah, I don't think I was totally with it. So anyway, did you have fun?"

"Uhh," he fleetingly looked at Rinoa who had positioned herself up against Jem. "Yeah I did. I didn't know you guys knew my cousin."

Once again Selphie was a little lost. "Damn…I'm so blonde today! No offence Quisty, everyone knows you're not the typical blonde…but, who's your cousin?"

"Emily Vella."

"I do English with Emily. She's pretty quiet."

Squall kept in a laugh. "Only to those who don't know her." A momentary silence fell on the five seated on the asphalt beneath a tree, their usual lunchtime spot. After a few seconds, another person approached, tossing a packet of chips onto Selphie's lap. He sat down next to her and received a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks Irvy! I owe you one!"

"Oh, you owe my _much_ more than that, darlin'. That's gotta be the seventeenth time in two weeks you've swiped my lunch."

"Seventeenth!? Nuhuh! I don't think so."

The rest of the group watched in amusement as an argument ruptured between the two. Somewhere in the midst of Selphie listing all the things she'd done for Irvine, Rinoa tapped Squall gently on the shoulder. Her eyes darted from side to side unsteadily as she quietly put forward to him a proposition.

"If you don't wanna spend two hours on Friday driving down with your rents and my mom, you can come with me. I'll be going after school, though. But trust me you do not want to be in a car with Julia Caraway for two hours. She's a good singer and all, and she knows a lot of songs, but she doesn't shut up and to top it off, she gets motion sickness pretty easily."

As much as he would've wanted to witness Julia Caraway at her best, he just couldn't pass up an opportunity to be with Rinoa…especially if she was the one that offered. "Are you sure you wouldn't mind? 'Cause I could take you up on that."

Rinoa smiled slightly, swallowing nervously. "Yeah I'm sure." Her smile then widened. "But, I get dibs on choice of music."

"Fair enough. I don't mind."

They then returned to listening to the argument as it died down to a simple resolution: Selphie was to buy Irvine a drink after school. When the bell rang, signally the end of lunch, they all stood up and picked up their books. Only then did Rinoa realise what was to happen in a few days time.

_Two hours alone with Squall Leonhart…plus two more days after that? Oh God! What have I gotten myself into._

. . .

Quistis and Rinoa walked out of the school gates as the school week concluded. As they continued down the road to where Rinoa lived, Quistis couldn't help but ask the question that had been annoying her all day. "Okay, so I thought you were going away this weekend with Squall and taking today off."

"I didn't tell you?" she replied nonchalantly.

"You're not going anymore?"

Rinoa rolled her eyes at Quistis' evident disappointment. "No, I'm still going. Me and Squall are driving down in about an hour."

"You are?! Wow! You and Squall alone together for a whole weekend! How does Jem feel about this?"

"He's fine with it. Why wouldn't he be? Squall's his bestfriend, he trusts both of us with his life. What the hell do you think is going to happen?"

"Oh like I need to tell you. You have your own imagination, you figure it out."

"Ugh!" Rinoa groaned. "Nothing is going to happen!" _Keep saying it Rin, you might start to believe it._

"So who's driving?"

"I am."

"Poor Squall," Quistis snickered as Rinoa turned into her footpath. "Have fun this weekend and I want details!"

"Yeah, like you deserve it. Bye!" The door swung open as Rinoa's keys cluttered against the glass table adjacent to the opening. Passing by the answering machine, she observed a flashing number and hit the 'play' button.

_"Hi darling. Just calling from the road. Raine!" Julia laughed. "Stop singing for two minutes! Now Rinoa, we forgot to bring toiletries, so be a sweetheart and take some with you, alright? Thankyou, dear. Raine and Laguna appreciate your offering to take Squall. It'll be a good chance for you two to catch up-"_

Rinoa rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah _perfect _chance to catch up."

_"Now make sure you memorise the map I printed off for you. It's on the kitchen table. Bye sweetheart, I'll see you soon. Oh! And drive carefully! Alright Raine, sing away…"_

A beep sounded at the end of the message as Rinoa trudged up the stairs and into her room. Collapsing onto her bed she sighed heavily before twisting to look at her clock.

_15:21_

_Okay…forty minutes until I have to pick Squall up. So I should change, eat and load everything into the car. Right. Sounds like a plan._ Rolling over once again, she threw herself onto her feet and started unbuttoning her school uniform blouse. _I guess I should have enough time for a quick shower as well…_

Emerging from her bathroom in only her underwear, she headed to where she'd laid out her outfit that morning during her packing process, choosing to leave out a pair of jeans and tank top for the drive down. Pulling on the articles of clothing, she then turned to her vanity mirror and started combing her hair, after which she placed the comb into her toiletry bag and began hunting down the other items her mother had wanted her to bring.

Packing her things into her car had proved to be an easy job with her singular bag of clothes and she was soon on the road with a bar of chocolate in her hand, and another tossed onto the passenger seat, as she drove down the road to Squall's house. It didn't take long to get there. He literally lived eight houses away, which didn't really mean much considering their neighbourhood consisted of almost mansion-like houses. Pulling up the driveway of the Leonhart residence, she swallowed her last bit chocolate and exited her vehicle. Rinoa was quick to alert Squall of her arrival with the doorbell, and no sooner had she done so, that he opened the door with a smile.

"Hey Rin, you wanna come in for a sec while I pack my stuff into your car?"

"Yeah sure I guess," she started nervously, ambling in as he stepped aside. "You can put your stuff into the back. I left it open."

"Cool." He started up the stairs before turning back to her. "Hey listen, help yourself to a drink in the kitchen. I'm assuming you still know your way around this house."

Rinoa nodded slowly. "Vaguely. This way?" she asked as she pointed through a door and, receiving a nod from him, proceeded into the kitchen. Although rooms usually seem to get smaller with the progression of age, Rinoa found that the Leonhart residence had gotten no smaller since her last visit at the age of five. _Oh God…this place is bloody huge! And a family of three live here…no wonder they seem insane half the time._

As she was invited to, she opened the fridge and thought about taking out a can on lemonade for herself, but decided against it. When she'd allowed the fridge door to close by itself, she observed a cabinet full of photo frames in the dining room. Nervously, Rinoa peeked into the room half expecting a butler to turn up and stop her from entering without permission. When none appeared, she made no hesitation in looking into the cabinet. The topmost shelf displayed pictures of Raine and Laguna's wedding, while the lower shelves were more of family and friends. One picture in particular caught Rinoa's attention. It was of a group of children all in a line, most of whom the identities were unmistakable. From left to right she named them:

_Selphie, Quistis, Zell, Emily, someone else, Irvine, Seifer, Squall and me._

Smiling at how cute everyone looked, she still felt a little puzzled at her proximity to Squall in the photo. Her smile turned into a frown as she observed something else and, hearing a shuffle echoing against the marble floor was getting closer, turned to go out the came she'd come in.

"Rinoa, I'm all done."

"Alright then. Come on." With that, she brushed past him and paced towards the front door, not stopping until she was seated in the driver's seat. Squall had dropped behind to lock the front door of his house and while he did so, Rinoa sat with her eyes trained on him, coming to terms with many things she'd forgotten about Squall and their relationship. Aspects of their relationship eleven years ago that were brought back to surface at seeing herself and Squall holding hands. It was then Rinoa remembered how close she and Squall used to be - practically best friends.

_How could I have forgotten about something like that?_

She put on a small smile as he approached and hopped in, removing the chocolate bar from the seat before sitting.

"You sure you didn't forget anything?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Though even if I did leave anything, we're only gone for two days…so its no big deal."

"Right. Okay." Inwardly sighing, Rinoa backed out of the driveway.

"Can I have this?" Squall asked, referring to the chocolate bar he was holding.

She hesitated slightly. _Man! That's my favourite flavour! _"Sure, I guess."

"Thanks," he replied with a smile. _She's giving me things...that's a step in a good direction..._

Thus began the two-hour drive to the seaside resort of 'White Sands'. Both Squall and Rinoa had accepted the fact that this weekend would be full of awkward silences, starting with the drive down. Every few seconds, one of the two would say something, get a response from the other, then the silence would ensure again between them, the radio continuing to play the mix of music Rinoa had burnt on CD earlier that week. This pattern continued for approximately an hour and a half, until Squall got sick of it and decided to be as forward as he could.

"I just thought you should know, Em is really happy about you two being on good terms now."

"Yeah? Well good. I wanted that. She seems like a really nice person."

"She's great. So listen," he started as he glanced at her cautiously. "I saw you looking at the pictures in the cabinet."

She unintentionally swallowed. "You did?"

"Yeah, I had direct sight of you from the front door."

"I see."

"I take it you saw that photo of the whole gang then."

Rinoa nodded, not exactly sure where he was heading. "Uhuh. We were five then weren't we?"

"You were four, that was my fifth birthday. We were pretty good friends back then."

A frown formed on her face. "I guess we were."

"So…you don't have to be weird around me." Rinoa went to say something, but Squall cut her off. "I know we haven't talked in ten years, but come on. If we were friends that long ago, surely we can be friends now."

_I know…let me just get used to this!_ "Okay, yeah I know we were. But I'm still just getting used to this. I'd like to honestly just go back to being best friends and everything, but I think that'll take a lot more time than you think."

Squall smiled. "We were best friends?"

"Practically. You honestly don't remember?" she asked a little more disappointment in her voice than she'd intended

"Nah I do. I'm just surprised you did."

"Well I didn't until I saw that photo…"

"Where we were holding hands," he finished for her. "Scared me too when mom put that one up earlier. So are we friends now or what?"

Rinoa kept her eyes on the road, though they narrowed a little as she held a breath before answering, "Getting there. So how was Esthar? I've heard Jem talk about it a lot, so what were your thoughts?"

"It was okay I guess," he shrugged indifferently.

"Did you have a girlfriend?" Rinoa bit her lip as soon as she'd asked, even though she was curious as hell about it. _Wait…I'm not **that** curious…_

Squall laughed at the question, not expecting her to ask it so soon, or as forward. "Well I _did_, but that didn't last too long…so no, I didn't leave anyone in Esthar behind."

"So that's a good thing…?"

"Yeah it is…kinda. So tell me something."

"What?"

Squall could see that Rinoa had relaxed more since the start of the journey and was pretty sure he was safe to talk freely to her now. "How do you put up with Jem and his video game obsession?"

"I play as well," Rinoa chuckled softly.

"Whoa! No wonder he likes you." _No wonder **I** like you…_

"He was surprised as well when he saw my playstation out in the living room."

"That is_ so_ cool. Back in Esthar, hardly any of the girls were gamers."

"Yes, well," she started in a matter-of-fact tone, "I'm not your average girl."

_Evidently…_

They both smiled at each other before drowning back into silence for the remaining twenty minutes. But this time, the silence was no longer awkward. Rinoa felt her smile widen as she felt more comfortable.

_If this is what it felt like to be friends with Squall…I don't know how I ever hated him…_

* * *

A/N-okay! **SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY!** Please believe me when I say that I'm sorry for leaving you guys for so long! I swear I had no time! I've had exams and everything bad to do with school and it gets worse, because in two weeks I begin the HSC course (for non aussies: that's the final year of highschool where one undergoes several assessments and exams which make up our final mark and determine what courses we can get into at uni) – heaps complex, but that's it in a nutshell. So anyway…the point being, I don't know how often I can update from now on, but I promise I will try as often as I can…which won't be that much, but hey! Think positive! About this chapter…I really wanted to move things along and get them on the weekend already because that's where all the good stuff happens…kinda, but hey! I really wanna write this bit. So sorry for dragging it out for so long! I hope I didn't bore you all to death. So because I really wanted this chapter out, no responses this time…but thankyou to everyone who R&Red… please feel free to do so again! Also...feel free to drop by my profile page! I usually have a lot of reasons as to my lack of updating there and I update it pretty often...well more often than this fic hehehe.

**_- - take care and don't forget to R&R! peace out… 3 e.t_**


	10. Chapter 9: Last Week: Fight, This Week: ...

Disclaimer: check previous...nothing has changed. i'm still not rich -.-'

- - -

**Chapter 9: Last Week: Fight, This Week: Tight - Part 2**

_I cannot help it I couldn't stop it if I tried   
The same old heartbeat fills the emptiness I have inside   
And I've heard that you can't fight love, so I won't complain   
'Cause why would I stop the fire that keeps me going on? _

'Cause when there's you, I feel whole   
And there's no better feeling in the world   
But without you I'm alone   
And I'd rather be in love with you

_- - I'd Rather Be In Love (Michelle Branch)_

* * *

Rinoa trudged down the stairs of the rented lodge, clad in a skirt and halter neck when she heard the annoying screams of her mother from the living room where a heated match of _Scrabble_ was taking place between Raine, Laguna and Julia.

"'Lostness' is not a word Raine!" Julia protested, reaching for the dictionary that lay close at hand.

"It is too! It describes the level of - it describes how lost one is."

Laguna snatched the dictionary from Rinoa's mother. "No, Julia's right honey. There's no such word."

"But she got away with 'won't' without an apostrophe."

Julia rolled her eyes. "That word isn't 'won't' its _wont_, and that _is_ an actual word referring to customary usage."

"Yeah, she's right honey." Laguna nodded as he searched the dictionary.

Rinoa entered the room just as Raine was about to snap at Laguna for taking sides. "Umm, hi you guys. You know, when you said you had rented out a seaside resort, I sorta got the impression that you were going to actually take the time to relax...on the _beach_."

"Nonsense. You go have fun on the beach...we'll have fun here. Unless you want to join."

She raised an eyebrow at her mother. _Oh God, you've got to be kidding me_. "No it's okay. I wouldn't want to ruin your fun." With that, she turned on her heel and made for her room upstairs. Passing Squall's room, she noticed it was open and, knocking quickly, entered to find it empty. Stepping out again, she found herself colliding into something or someone.

_Crap..._

"Looking for me?" she heard Squall's voice resonate from behind her.

Rinoa rolled her eyes at his cockiness and, remaining in her position with her back to him for a few seconds, explained herself. "I was, actually. I was in search of you because I was going to ask if I could - " she stopped mid-sentence as she turned around to face him, in hopes of gaining more confidence while looking straight into his eyes. _Big mistake_, she reflected, as she turned, not only to lose the little confidence she had mustered up as he caught her off guard, but also to forget her entire speech of requesting permission to borrow something. She swallowed slowly as she was, once again, forced to take in his image. She didn't know how much timed passed as she observed his exposed well-toned body, as he wore nothing more than a towel around his waist after his shower that had left his hair wet and tousled. To Rinoa, it seemed that she'd stared at him for a whole hour, but she dared to examine him for a few seconds more. _Yum...those years of Tae Kwon Do **did** do you some good..._

Aware of her prying eyes on him, he smiled slightly to himself, not fully allowing himself to enjoy the moment as much as he should've. "You were going to ask if you could what?"

"Umm..." She tried to recall her purpose there, not aided by the fact that there was less than 10 cm of air existing between them. _Think, Rinoa, think!_ Closing her eyes, she shook herself out of her reverie. "I was going to ask if I could borrow your discman, but after thinking for a bit just now, I just remembered that I _did_ bring mine after all, so I don't need to borrow your's anymore. So, uh, I'll be going." Forcing a smile, Rinoa backed into her room adjacent to Squall's and shut the door behind her, allowing herself to then fall forward onto her bed. _Oh my God! How embarrassing!_ _And to think I actually enjoyed the sight of him looking all..._She pictured him once again _...yum._ _Okay, Rin, snap out of it...you can't possibly think of Squall like this. For one thing, he's Jem's best friend and secondly...he's Squall!_ She frowned in response to her thought. _So what if he's Squall...okay, I should stop having mental conversations with myself..._

- - -

After recovering from her embarrassing experience that morning, Rinoa had settled on taking a book down to the beach and reading. However, although she'd intended on reading, she found herself lying on her back, eyes closed, wearing only her bikini top and board shorts, receiving an uneven tan. With her earphones in place, she continued to listen to her music, content with being the only one on the beach. _Private beach...I might get used to this._ A familiar tone sounded through her music, signalling a call on her cell phone. Pushing up to lean on her elbow, Rinoa reached over to the pile of clothes and into the pocket of her skirt. Glancing at the caller ID, she rolled her eyes and accepted the call, removing the earphones from where her ears, knowing full well what was about to transpire.

"_Okay, Rin. It's 2:30 on a Saturday afternoon. You would've spent a whole night with him already, so fill me in,"_ Quistis demanded eagerly, a grin plastered onto her face.

"Hello to you too, Quisty. You _do_ realise you're encouraging me to cheat on Jem."

"_I am not! You're the one who controls your actions...I'm merely asking about it. Whether or not you cheat on Jem is totally your call."_

"Uh huh...so the fact that nothing has happened between us would mean nothing since you don't expect me to cheat...right?" A smile tugged at her lips as Quistis silenced on the other end. "But if you're interested...he looks damn good without a shirt on."

"_Rinoa Caraway! You said nothing happened!"_

She, once again, rolled her eyes. "Are you sure you're not a typical blonde, Quistis Trepe? I saw him after his shower. "Rinoa paused to choose her words carefully. "I bumped into him on his way to his room, so I got a good look."

The blonde waited for Rinoa to continue, and when she didn't she added, _"And...?"_

Rinoa remembered the events of that morning and tried her best to keep her composure, making her reply sound as nonchalant as possible. "He's pretty hot, I guess."

"_You guess?"_ Quistis asked, disappointment evident in her tone. _"And here I was thought you were going to tell me how you went weak in the knees at the sight of him and started dreaming of you and Squall flying off into the unknown together locked in a gravitational embrace."_

A raised eyebrow appeared on Rinoa's face. "Alright hun, you have got to calm your imagination down. I'm serious...you're starting to scare me now."

"_Well fine...for my own curiousity, just tell me what's hidden under his clothes."_

"I dunno..." Rinoa glanced back at the house they had hired, trying to remember what she'd seen. Keeping her gaze there, she continued, "He's got a well-toned body, I guess. I'm not even entirely sure of what a well-toned body looks like, but I'm pretty sure his was. What else...um..."

"_What about his arms?"_

_Well they certainly aren't chicken wings..._"Did I ever mention to you that he does Tae Kwon Do?"

"_He does?"_

"Well he did. I don't know if he still does, but crap-"

"_What? What's happened?"_

"He's coming towards me. I'm hanging up now."

"_Ugh! Fine then be-"_

Quistis hardly got another word in as Rinoa snapped her cell phone shut and tossed it onto the pile of clothes beside her. Then, turning on her tummy, she picked up her book and opened it to where her bookmark had been placed an hour before, at the same time replacing the earphones into her ears. _Gee, Rin, that was smooth._

Squall chuckled to himself as he saw Rinoa in the distance reading. _She comes to the beach to read...weird._ Carefully, he stepped across the sand to where she lay, making sure he didn't drop the plate he had brought with her lunch on it. He slowed his pace as he neared her, waiting for her to take notice of him. Only when he had managed to block the sun by hovering over her did she look up and take an earphone out. She forced an, obviously, uneasy smile. "Hey Squall." She eyed the plate in his hand, with a hamburger on it, and the can of lemonade in his other hand. _Uhuh...how thoughtful of him to bring me lunch..._

"Hey, your mum was getting worried and she asked me to bring you lunch."

"So that they could continue their scrabble match?" Rinoa rolled her eyes, trying to hide her disappointment. _So mum sent him on an errand...okay, not so thoughtful anymore._

"You bet. So anyhow, here's your lunch. I would've brought dessert as well, but melted ice cream isn't exactly all that pleasant." She sat up as he knelt down onto the sand and sat down, passing over her food.

"Nah it's okay. I'll have double for dinner. Thanks, Squall," she said, struggling to keep it from sounding forced.

"No problem." Squall eyed her closed book. "What you reading there?"

"Some play for English. You'll probably be starting it soon, too."

Squall leant back onto his hands and stretched his legs out in front of him. "Any good?" she shot him an unbelieving glance as if to say 'are you kidding me?' while she took a bite. That was confirmation enough. "Fair enough. So did you actually bring all your homework this weekend?"

"No, not really." She shook her head. "I should have time to do most of it tomorrow night, assuming we actually get home early enough."

"Well you _did_ bring your own car, that probably means you can leave whenever you want. You could leave _now_ if you wanted to be rid of me." He smirked internally, guessing what her reaction would be.

"I don't want to be rid of you. Its just been a really long time since we last spoke and I dunno how to talk to you yet."

"No one's saying you _have_ to talk to me, you know."

"Yeah, but I want to." Rinoa bit her lip as her excitement began to control her.

_Oh really...?_ "Yeah?"

"Well..." she started, carefully formulating her words. "Contrary to popular belief, I'm actually not a bitch and I don't particularly like having enemies. So being friends with you means one less enemy, and please don't take that the wrong way."

Squall shrugged indifferently, hiding his amusement. "Fine, whatever. Don't mean to be all cliché or anything, but just be yourself. I'd rather you not pretend around me."

"And why's that?" she queried with a frown.

"'Cause I wanna get to know you better."

Silence ensued as Rinoa finished off her food, pausing every now and then to glance at Squall who did nothing but stare out into the ocean. _Definitely a thoughtful guy_, she concluded. Having now sat up, she remembered that she wore only a bikini top and her board shorts. Casting her view onto the pile of clothes next to Squall, her singlet top and skirt, she wondered if she could swipe them and change without drawing too much attention to herself. Once more her gaze fell on him, her mind formulating a plan. A smile played on his lips as he felt her stare at him.

"So you feel like ice cream?"

Rinoa blinked out of her reverie, covering her bare stomach with crossed arms. "Huh?"

He sat up and cocked his head to one side slightly, a playful grin on his face. "Do you want ice cream? My treat."

"Umm, yeah, sure okay," she stuttered, still trying to get out of her predicament of being half naked on a beach with no one but Squall for company. _Perfect._

"I saw this ice-cream shop when I went to explore the little village. It looked pretty cool. Wanna go now?"

_Okay, now you have an excuse to get dressed_. "Alright. Let me just put something on." Kneeling up to stand, she grabbed her clothes quickly, and turned away from him.

Squall watched as she got up, dusting the sand away from her body. He let his eyes take her image in fully as she pulled her top on. Realising that he was getting slightly carried away, he suppressed his grin, turning his focus away back to the ocean. Rinoa looked over her shoulder as she zipped up her skirt glad, though a little disappointed, to find Squall not looking back. Kneeling down again, she gathered up her belongings - her discman and book - and put them into her utility bag.

"Ready?" he asked as Rinoa put on her flip-flops and stood, waiting.

"Let's go. Though we should probably take the plate back."

"Yeah okay. We have to go passed the house anyway," he replied, picking up the plate and now empty soda can.

As they made their way back to the house, no words were said. Occasionally their hands would brush, sending a shiver up Rinoa's back and making Squall smile. Rinoa, too, smiled, glancing every few seconds at Squall fleetingly, too shy to say anything to him. For an instant, she let her mind wander.

_I think I'm starting to like Squall..._

* * *

A/N - okay, yes i am aware it has been a while and the reasons of such a delay have been explained, and if you have a problem with that, please feel free to email me, my email addy and website are available in my profile page. alright...so how was this chappy? was it worth the wait or should i just give up all together? am i totally losing my writing skill? i hope not! anyway, its 5 weeks into the last term for the school year here in oz, which menas in another 5 weeks i'll be free to update as frequently or as scarcely as i wish! . so please tell me what you thought of this chapter ...PLEASE R&R! you have no idea how much your comments mean to me! i think i should totally forget about writing personal responses, it takes too much time on top of the many weeks i tkae to write...so none of them for a while sorry. but yeah! if you wanna talk to me about this fic or anything, don't hesitate at all to email me! ok...well R&R and hopefully i'll update in time for christmas!

_luv ya'll!   
- - e.t ._


	11. Chapter 10: Friendly Games of Truth

Disclaimer: I still don't any of the characters except Jem. Even though I would love to have Squall…but anyhow, I still don't own Square-Enix. I am not, nor will I ever be, rich enough to do so.

- - -

**Chapter 10: Friendly Games of Truth or Dare**

_A warning sign  
I missed the good part then I realised  
I started looking and the bubble burst  
I started looking for excuses_

_Come on in  
I've gotta tell you what a state I'm in  
I've gotta tell you in my loudest tones  
That I started looking for a warning sign_

_When the truth is  
I miss you  
Yeah the truth is  
That I miss you so_

_- - Warning Sign (Coldplay)_

* * *

As they made their way back to the house, no words were said. Occasionally their hands would brush, sending a shiver up Rinoa's back and making Squall smile. Rinoa, too, smiled, glancing every few seconds at Squall fleetingly, too shy to say anything to him. For an instant, she let her mind wander. 

_I think I'm starting to like Squall..._

She smiled once more, only to stop upon realisation.

_I'm beginning to like **Squall…**_

Rinoa suddenly began to regret agreeing to his idea. She felt the heat rise in her cheeks and paused in her stride, panicking to get out of the situation she'd gotten herself into.

_Just because he has a nice smile, it doesn't mean I can just let my brain turn into mush!_

Squall frowned slightly as she stopped beside him. Turning to face her, he put on his characteristic smile. "Hey, are you alright?" his smile slightly broadening when he saw the blush in her cheeks.

_Oh gosh my cheeks are getting all hot…crap! He's so going to get the wrong idea_. Closing her eyes and placing one hand on her forehead in her art of faking sick, she allowed herself to speak in a slightly broken way. "I'm…my head is feeling all hot. I think I've been…you know, I spent too much time in the sun."

"Oh, yeah…probably sunstroke. Hey you should go and take a shower and lie down or something," he started, trying to not to sound overly concerned, or disappointed as she nodded slowly in concurrence. "Come on, we're almost at the house." Going along with her little act, he subconsciously took her empty hand, her other occupied with the plate that had carried her sandwich, and put his arm around her waist, helping her back to the house.

Squall felt her stiffen at his touch, and smiled knowingly. _Sunstroke, eh? What 'strenuous' activity were you doing to cause it? I don't think reading in the sun is enough to cause sunstroke. I'm not **that** stupid Rin._

_Oh God,_ Rinoa's eyes shot open, _did my plan just backfire into an invitation for him to touch me! It's okay…he's just helping me 'cause he thinks I'm really not feeling well. Right…yeah, that's why. No need to be alarmed…or enjoy it._ Her pace quickened to match his, shortly approaching the wooden panelled stairs that lead to the beach house's verandah.

"Uh…thanks Squall. I'll be fine from here," she said with a smile, hastily removing herself from his hold and moving inside.

_I'll let it go for now…_ "Yeah, okay." He smirked as he stared after her. _Could it be that she's nervous about being alone with me? Now that would be interesting._

Quickly passing the kitchen to place the plate on one of the benches, and skilfully avoiding conversation with the parental units, Rinoa made her way upstairs, nervously hugging herself as she closed the room door behind her. Pressing her back against the door she blinked, trying desperately to calm herself down. Not only was she annoyed at what had just transpired, Rinoa was also angry with herself for not being able to handle things better. Dropping her bag to the floor, she followed in suit, hugging her knees to her chest while her back remained touching the door, a pout and frown forming on her face. Her thoughts remembering the conversation she'd had with him the previous afternoon.

_Best friends. Of course I remembered. Anger towards you was the only way I could deal the fact that two of the most important people had left me in the span of a month – my father…and you. I never really blamed you for his death…it just happened that that was the only way I could deal with you being gone. That whole stupid cake story - talk about making a mountain out of a molehill. I pushed away my feelings of missing you by replacing them with feelings of hate…and that made it easier for me to let go. You know what they say: if you keep saying it, you start to believe it._

_And so I believed that I hated you…and I stopped needing you._

_But now you're back. And while a part of me still hoped you would, I started to believe that you'd never come back. How could you possibly understand, even if I did tell you…_

Feeling a real headache form, she took the elastic from her hair and shook the thoughts from her head. Rinoa felt her ponytail fall onto her shoulders, combing her dark locks with her fingers as she stood up from her sitting position and grabbed a towel and some clothes from the bag beside her bed. Rubbing her forehead in attempts to banish the oncoming headache she made her way down the hall, towards the bathroom and opened the door. Eyes narrowed, she nonchalantly opened the door and stepped in.

"Do you always just barge in on people in the bathroom?" Squall asked with a smirk as he stood at the sink, shaking his wet hands. "I guess you're lucky then."

With her eyes now widened, Rinoa was at a loss of words, a previously unknown state for her that was beginning to be more and more familiar, especially of late. _Gee…way to get rid of a headache._ "Excuse me? Lucky?" was all she could think up to say, mentally chastising herself.

"Lucky that you didn't wander on in on me thirty seconds ago. Unless of course, you actually were intending to, in which case you'd be then unfortunate."

An instinctive glare quickly formed at his comment. "Who the hell leaves a bathroom door unlocked when they're using it, anyway? I was just going to take a shower to get rid of my headache. I don't think of you all the time."

"But you do think of me?"

_Touché_. Her mouth opened momentarily, shocked at his question. Rinoa racked her brain, trying desperately to retaliate cleverly, failing miserably with the monosyllabic answer, "No."

Amusement showed on his face. _Gotcha!_ "Sorry…in my house a closed door is as good as it being locked. But, who enters a room with a closed without knocking?" he asked as he walked passed her and closed the door as he exited.

Rinoa couldn't help but smile slyly, now that she was out of danger of being caught. _Unfortunate indeed._

- - -

Rinoa glanced at her watch with a sigh. She and Squall were sitting silent on either side of the couch watching cartoons, Squall occasionally flicking through the channels.

_9.03…we've been silent for an hour and a half. And I'm hungry._

Rinoa pouted, glancing momentarily at the boy beside her. "I'm guessing your overly enthusiastic dad still hasn't caught some fish for dinner."

"Well, at least they finally got out of the house. I swear I've never seen them act so juvenile before. Even _you_ are behaving more maturely," he said with a smirk, receiving a poked out tongue. "I never realised they were such good friends. I mean, I don't think my parents even kept contact with your mum while we were in Esthar."

"I can't recall them keeping up contacteither. That's probably why then - they've got heaps to catch up on. And I've known my mum to be pretty in love with 'Scrabble', but I've never seen her, or anyone, play for more than two hours," Rinoa laughed as she observed the numerous 'Scrabble' scoresheets laying on the coffee table.

"Yeah I know what you mean. Hey…you hungry?"

Rinoa rolled her eyes at the obviousness of the answer. "Of course I am. What do you propose we do?"

"Eat, smart ass," he laughed as he tossed the television remote control onto the couch, and stood to move in the direction of the kitchen. "I saw mum pack away some stuff from lunch, so I'm assuming there'll be enough for us to eat. Something tells me they won't be back for a while. I don't think my dad knows how to fish."

Rinoa stood and followed him. "Why the hell didn't you say so before? If I'd known that their little expedition would be unsuccessful I wouldn't have waited."

"So I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Does that make me a horrible person?" he shrugged.

"Yes."

Squall let out another laugh as he opened the fridge and started pulling out plastic containers from the fridge. "Whatever."

"What are my options then?"

"Well…there's cold cuts in the fridge, as well as bread if you want another sandwich. But here you have the choice of either a pasta salad or a potato salad."

Her eyes narrowed. "There was a pasta salad at lunch and I got a measly sandwich?"

"Fine, have the pasta salad then. Geez…that's gratitude for you. Not my fault you just so happened to be on the beach when we were eating." Squall opened one of the draws and pulled out two forks, giving one of them to her as she opened the containers. "By the way. You're pretty crappy at faking sickness."

_Ah shit. He caught me. Okay…if all else fails: feign innocence._ "What do you mean?" Heat once again crept into her cheeks.

Nothing went passed Squall. "You not feeling well again?"

Rinoa busied herself with the task at hand: eating. Trying to make it look like something not to be distracted from. "I'm feeling just fine."

"So earlier you were just…?"

"Genuinely not feeling well," she lied through her teeth. _Great answer._

"Truth or Dare, Rin?" Squall asked cunningly.

Her gaze narrowed as she met his, knowing precisely what he was trying to do. _Okay then…this could be interesting - more interesting than just silence anyway._ "Dare."

Eyes still trained on her's he proceeded to share his request. "I dare you to take your top off-"

"Truth."

_Thought so._ "Fine. Why are you avoiding being alone with me?"

"I'm not. I'm here alone with you right now, aren't I?" she lifted an eyebrow, challenging him.

"But that's out of your control. You wouldn't be left alone with me if you had a choice would you?"

"I do believe the game 'Truth or Dare' consists of _one_ question or dare at a time," she retaliated, popping another bit of salad into her mouth.

"Fair enough. I choose truth."

Rinoa bit her lip in contemplation. "Why are you so intent on getting to know me?"

"Because I like you."

Rinoa blinked at his answer. _What!_

"Just kidding," Squall laughed upon seeing her face. _Gotcha. Interesting reaction, Rin._ "I'm not intent on knowing you. I already do know you." _Well…that's true too._ "I'm just trying to reacquaint myself with you."

"You don't already know me. I've changed."

"Not really."

"Prove it then. What-"

"Uh uh, I do believe you would be a hypocrite if I let you continue. Truth or dare?"

"You do realise I'm never going to choose dare, so we may as well just play 'Truth'."

Squall finished chewing before he replied, "Alright. Did you really hate me _that_ much?"

She cocked her head as she thought, stabbing the fork into bits of pasta remaining in the container. "Honestly…I'd have to say yes." _But for reasons I shan't disclose to you…_

"No elaboration?" he smirked

"That's another question I believe, and no. You asked a yes or no question. If you had said 'Explain…well then I would've been obligated to explain."

"Smart ass. Go ahead then," he sighed with a roll of the eyes, placing the empty containers and forks into the sink. While she thought, he made his way back to the fridge, pulling out two cans of lemonade, giving one to Rinoa, who had hoisted herself on top of the kitchen bench top opposite Squall, who was now leaning against the fridge.

"Thanks. Let me see. At my house you said you'd rather not have moved, but that's because I was being annoying. If you had your choice, would you rather be in Esthar or here?" she asked as she opened the can and took a sip.

"Here, without having left of course." _Then you might've ended up with me._ "Who was your first crush?"

Once again her eyes narrowed. "If you claim to know me so well then you should know that it was Seifer…though if you tell him or Quistis, I _will_ hurt you."

"Oh trust me, he knew. Besides, that was ages ago. He wouldn't care anyway. It'd just feed his ego," he laughed.

"Then who was _your_ first crush? It had to be one of the gang."

"You're right it was. It was you."

_WHAT!_ Once again Rinoa blinked in shock. With a small shake of her head a smile twisted on her lips. "Liar. It was Quistis."

_Yeah, that's what I told you._ "Why ask if you already knew the answer?"

"Why lie when the name of the game is clearly 'truth'?" Rinoa bit back.

"You can't answer a question with another question."

"Yes I can, andI did. Besides,I was just testing you."

"Same here. Gotta say, Rin, loved your reaction."

Rinoa shrugged, expertly continuing her indifferent facade. "What can I say, I aim to please. Anyway…I'm thinking I'm going to go hit the sack early." With that she jumped off the bench top, throwing the empty can in the bin.

"It's a Saturday. Why?"

"I intend to wake up early. I haven't seen a beach sunrise in years."

"Oh I see. Well maybe I'll join you," he said slowly, waiting for her reaction, surprised when she turned back in his direction from the doorway, smiling genuinely at him before promptly turning back around towards the stairs that lead to their bedrooms.

"Yeah." _That'd be nice…_

Squall smiled to himself as she left him alone in the kitchen. _9.34_, he observed as he glanced at the oven clock. _Where the hell are those three?_ As if on cue, the three parents stepped into the kitchen, having entered from the beach side entrance.

"Hi Squall, has Rinoa gone to bed?" Julia asked, receiving a nod. "Though she's probably just going to talk to Jem until the early hours of the morning."

"Guess what, Squall," Laguna chimed in, a goofy smile present.

He raised an eyebrow in response, partially in annoyance. "You caught no fish and decided to eat out instead, not telling either of us thinking we'd be intuitive enough to figure it out."

"Ah, your son knows you too well," Raine chirped as the three adults broke out into laughter. "You should've come Squall. Watching your dad struggle with the fish was so much fun."

"I've seen it before. Well, I'm gonna go to bed now too." _There isn't much else I can do here anyway._ "'Night."

-"-"-

Rinoa glanced at her door as she heard faint laughter. "Looks like the parentals are back in the house now. I've never seen my mum so weird before."

_"Weird?"_

"Okay then, not weird, but you know…really happy. There's something different in her eyes now."

_"Well wouldn't that be a good thing then?"_

"I guess. I never realised how close my parents were with Squall's."

_"Squall's a really good guy, Rin. You should give him a chance."_

"I know that, Jem." _I know that better than anyone…_

_"Oh really?"_

Rinoa turned on her bed to face the wall that separated her room from Squall's, having heard the door close. "Yeah. I don't know if he ever told you, but we used to be really good friends…"

_"Then if you used to be such good friends what happened?"_

Rinoa sighed as she rolled again onto her back. "He went away."

- - -

_5.42_

Rinoa glanced at her cell phone, looking back at the house from where she sat on the beach. Sighing, she let herself fall back onto the sand, staring up at the stars still present in the sky, listening to the waves continuing in their tidal movements. She allowed herself to close her eyes for a few seconds as nearing footsteps sinking into the sand sounded. _Nice of you to join me, Squall._

"You know, you'll miss the sunrise if you fall asleep. God your alarm is loud," Squall whispered as he stood looking over her.

"Good morning to you, too. You exaggerate. I had my phone's alarm on the lowest volume _and_ I turned it off after it alarmed five times," Rinoa's volume matching his.

Squall sat himself down next to her. "You only heard it alarm five times? I heard it go on for about three minutes."

"Well its not my fault you have extra sensitive hearing."

"Nah I couldn't sleep."

"Oh really? I could've sworn I heard you snoring through the wall." Rinoa smirked.

"Isn't it a bit too early for sarcasm?"

She sat up, brushing the sand from her hair with her fingers. "It's never too early. Shuttup now or you'll ruin it."

The sky had begun to brighten, and the two of them sat quietly watching as the dark shades of night slowly disappeared, overtaken by the mixing of orange and yellow, illuminating the world. Some clouds that had appeared on the horizon slowly moved out of the way to reveal the rising sun's rays. As the rays of light touched her face she smiled, breaking the silence that had encompassed the two for ten minutes. "Squall," she swallowed nervously as she placed a hand on his. "I'm sorry."

The look in her eyes told him not to question the apology, as if asking would spoil the moment they were sharing. Although he had a feeling that he already knew the answer.

"I know."

* * *

**A/N:** -hides behind a stone wall- Okay, first off…I'm really, really, really, really sorry for taking so long to update. As I've said numerous times before…school took priority this year and I'm sure you all understand. But now! I'm out of Highschool, I've graduated and I'm just waiting for my results and all that jazz…and although it's a year late, here is the chapter. I know a lot of you have waited a very long time for this and I truly hope I haven't disappointed too much. Not writing for a year can really take its toll on a writer. So I hope you will all accept my apology. I can't guarantee continuous updates, but can however guarantee that there won't be another gap between chapters quite as long as the past year. I hope you all still find interest in this story. And if you review I would be eternally grateful! I don't know how much my writing skills have deteriorated over the year and I really would love some comments. Thanks for sticking with me! Also...to those of you who reviewed last chapter all those months ago, my responses to you can be found on my homepage which you'll find on my profile page. I'm pretty sure how to get there is self explanatory, just look for "For Reviewers" in the navigation. Alright! That's me signing off! 

-huggliez-

_**PLEASE R&R! **_

- e. t


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